Around three this morning some Callander residents received a rude awakening as a massive wave roared down Callander Creek. The water flooded a few areas on Toronto and Ottawa Streets, but by around seven, those waters had receded, and the roadways were passable again.
Callander Creek runs from East Ferris, crosses Highways 11 and 94, runs past the Callander Animal Hospital and winds along Lansdowne Street for a spell before cutting across Toronto Street. After Toronto, the creek crosses Lansdowne again, and eventually goes underground near the corner of High and Bay Street.
Once underground, the stream flows beneath the block where Foodland stands, and makes its way to Lake Nipissing.
Callander’s Mayor, Robb Noon, explained that the creek “floods every spring,” but a flood at this time of year is unusual. Public Works and the Mayor suspect a beaver dam up-stream must have broke, releasing the mass of water. “That’s the only reason we can see right now for the amount of water that came through,” Noon said.
The water caused some damage, the mayor explained. He mentioned one resident’s basement flooded, and the water hit his home with enough force that it “broke the door” and washed in. Ottawa and Toronto Streets “had to be repaired in a few places as well,” and word on social media is that a resident’s flower box was also washed away in the wave.
Mayor Noon mentioned that when the water hit the lake “it washed out a culvert” as well. “We’re looking into that right now” to see what the damage might be. Public Works received the call around three a.m., “so they were out very early” on the case, and Noon mentioned the superintendent is “still out there” checking everything out.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
