North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority
News Release
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Wind and warmer temperatures have minimized the impact of rain on local water levels. The North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority has cancelled its Flood Watch, and downgraded it to a Watershed Conditions Statement – Flood Outlook.
This Flood Outlook replaces the Flood Watch issued on April 28, 2014 for major watercourses including the La Vase River, Duchesnay Creek, Wasi River and waterways in the Mattawa River system.
“The weather that the North Bay-Mattawa area has experienced over the past few days has had a favourable impact on area watercourses. With the warmed temperatures, the thawed ground has been able to take on the moisture from the rain and the last of the melting snow. And the wind has helped too, drying up some of the moisture,” said Susan Brownlee, NBMCA’s Regulations Officer.
Stream flows across the North Bay-Mattawa watershed remain high and the continued spring freshet. Cloudy conditions, with forecasted rainfall amounts ranging between 10 and 15mm though to Sunday dominate the weekend forecast. Daytime highs will be between 8 and 10˚C, with nighttime temperatures ranging between 0 and 5˚C.
“We don’t expect the forecasted rainfall to cause flooding. Rather, the continued milder weather and the beginning of vegetation growth will help to dry the soil,” she added.
All residents, especially those in low lying areas, are encouraged to monitor the weather and their local conditions. The NBMCA continues to advise that area watercourses are cold and fast flowing. Any creeks or lakes that may still have ice cover are considered unstable. These areas should be avoided. Parents are encouraged to keep their children and pets away from watercourses and off water bodies that have unstable ice conditions.
Municipalities are encouraged to monitor water crossings to ensure the continual movement of water through culverts and bridges.
A close watch on local conditions and updated forecasts and warnings from Environment Canada is also recommended.
Staff at the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority will continue to monitor weather and watershed conditions and provide updates if conditions warrant it.
Monitoring weather and flood conditions is a shared responsibility of NBMCA, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), and Environment Canada.
When flooding is possible or about to occur, NBMCA issues flood messages to municipal emergency management officials and the media. The municipal officials then take action to warn local residents.
Flood forecast messages enable the municipalities to prepare for, track and manage local flooding.
Advance warning by NBMCA provides municipalities with the opportunity to put emergency plans into operation, evacuate communities if necessary, and secure property in areas that are more likely to flood.
NBMCA advises the general public through the www.nbmca.on.ca website with the flood status icon and a link to information about current conditions.
NBMCA also issues these messages to the public through local media, twitter @the NBMCA and on facebook.com/NBMCA.
The public is invited to submit photos of any watershed conditions to twitter @theNBMCA or email [email protected]
A close watch on local conditions and weather forecasts from Environment Canada is also recommended. Environment Canada bulletins can be found at http://weather.gc.ca/
Other information is available on the Surface Water Monitoring Centre public webpage: www.ontario.ca/flooding.
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