Warm temperatures and rain to cause ponding, not flooding, says conservation authority

The rain and warmer temperatures in the current forecast will melt some of the snow that's fallen this winter across northeastern Ontario.

Conservation authorities covering watersheds for Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay-Mattawa have all issued water safety statements. But none anticipate flooding at this time.

"What you may see in the watershed is some localized ponding within roads or maybe it's sewer inlets are a little bit restricted due to the ice and that kind of thing," says Kurtis Romanchuk, a water resources engineer with the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority.

He says the snow melt and rainfall will increase runoff over the next few days.

Romanchuk says they usually use a five-day forecast to determine potential conditions.

"Beyond five days we find it's a little bit too uncertain to use for our flood forecasting purposes," Romanchuk said.

"And we're going to keep watching it as the spring goes on and the melt moves forward."

Carl Jorgensen, general manager with Conservation Sudbury, says they also anticipate ponding on some Sudbury streets, particularly in low-lying areas.

"Other flat areas and low areas are going to see some standing water sitting in there. However, I don't think we're going to get any flooding."

He adds that most of the rivers and lakes in the Sudbury watershed are at normal levels.

"Our watercourses — rivers and streams in the area — are flowing at normal, seasonal levels and so they have lots of capacity to absorb the runoff," Jorgensen said.

The last snowpack and water content measurements in the Sudbury watershed were taken by conservation officers on March 1, and at that time the amounts were around average.

"That's why we do our snowpack measurements and figure how much water content is in there so then we can combined that with the coming forecast and make our predictions that way," Jorgensen said.

He says he expects most of the rain forecasted over the next day or two to be absorbed into the snowpack.

"This warming event that we're having is going to be fairly short lived and then it's going to get cold again," he said.

"It's going to tighten things up and slow things down."

City crews clearing catch basins

Municipal public works crews in several of the northeastern Ontario cities are working to clear snow and ice from catch basins and storm grates, so the water will have a place to flow in to.

Ken Krcel, manager of public works for the City of Timmins, says his crews concentrate their work first on low-lying areas where there could be ponding, like at the bottom of hills.

"And then areas that haven't had a lot of snow removal, so there could be snow buildup on the streets."

Krcel says because of the significant snowfall Timmins has seen this winter, some snow banks may be sitting on top of the catch basins.

"So we try to remove the snow in March in as many places as we can to alleviate what's built up on the grates."

Krcel says he had been hoping for a slow snow melt for city crews to catch up on removing snow off Timmins streets before melting started.

"But Mother Nature has decided to give us a bit of rain and add to our existing challenges."

Flow in channels in Sault Ste. Marie

Rhonda Bateman, general manager with the Sault Ste Marie Region Conservation Authority, says two weeks ago the snow pack for their watershed was measuring about average. But she anticipated those numbers to increase this week when they measure again.

"What we expect is we're going to have a bit more flow in our channels, our flood control channels in the rivers and creeks, and we can't say right now how much that's going to be," she said, adding that it depends on how much water stays in the snow pack.

However, Batemen does not anticipate flooding at this time for the Sault Ste Marie watershed.

"We're always on guard.- Rhonda Bateman, Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation

She says their biggest concern is residents who access flood control channels.

"They're not supposed to be on there with snow machines, ATVs and that sort of thing, but some people do and they may not anticipate there being flowing water underneath."

As for the upcoming spring runoff, and the possibility for flooding, Bateman says "we're always on guard for that."

In order to keep flooding to a minimum over the next month, she says they need a slow melt period for the snow.

"If we continue with moderately mild temperatures and a nice return to just below freezing at night, that's the ideal spring for us."

Warning for residents

All three conservation authorities monitor the forecast, and check on water levels on local lakes and rivers. Residents within the respective regions will be notified if there is a risk of flooding.

There is also a warning for residents to stay away from slippery river banks, unstable ice, and open water, as water is cold and fast-flowing this time of the year.

At this time, the Mattagami Region Conservation Authority — which covers Timmins, Gogama and Shining Tree — has not issued any statements about conditions.