Town officials in Minto had to declare an emergency over the holidays thanks to a flood that threatened homes and caused the evacuation of a trailer park near the Maitland River in Harriston.
On Dec. 28 at about 11:15am, Town of Minto Mayor David Anderson de-clared an emergency.
A press release issued by the town stated high winds and continually rising waters in the Maitland River had created a dangerous situation in Harriston. Members of the Minto Fire Department, along with county OPP, evacuated residents of approximately 30 homes and trailers affected in the low lying areas.
The Emergency Control Group for the Town of Minto held ongoing meetings and continued to monitor the situation throughout the night.
Works Superintendent Norm Fisk said in an interview on Monday the residents of the trailer park, many of them retirees, spent the night at King’s Hotel in Palmerston. He noted many had left pets and medication at home when they first left the area, and township officials helped them recover everything they needed.
Despite Anderson declaring an emergency, Fisk said the town was actually “lucky.”
He noted that on Dec. 28 weather forecasters had called for another inch of rain in the area, but instead it got colder, rained for half an hour, and the melting of a huge snowfall from the previous three weeks stopped.
“We got them out early,” Fisk said of the residents.
He said the result was the town has heard from only four people who had basements flooded, even though the floodwaters closed Young, King, and George Streets for a time.
Westario came and shut off the hydro setup in a vault near the park, while Union Gas officials shut down the gas, and by Monday had gone back into the park and turned it on and relit pilots in the trailers. By Dec. 29, residents had returned to their trailers.
“It looked like things were going to get a lot worse,” Fisk said, noting hydro workers were busy throughout the area. In some places lines were knocked down, and the emergency call asked people to remain in their homes.
Fisk said such calls, which were broadcast in the area, usually attract people who want to see what is going on, but the OPP was also on the scene and kept them from danger, and also prevented any looting.
Fisk said Anderson declared the emergency because officials had no idea how bad the flooding might get, and also because there are funds available for emergencies that are declared.
However, he said other than a couple of trees and downed poles there was very little damage, so there will likely be very little cash coming to the town in any case. He said he knew of one house and car that had been struck when high winds sent trees and poles crashing.
He said most people have insurance, but also noted, “It’s an act of God,” which usually means the homeowners will have to cover their own costs.
In Drayton, the Conestogo River raged.
Communications officer Dave Schultz, of the Grand River Conservation Authority, said there were floods all over. The Conestogo River above the dam was running at 500 cubic metres per second. That is 2,000 times higher than the normal summer flows in that river, and streets were flooded around the community.
In Belwood, there were also floods washing out streets, and in Grand Valley, a Dufferin county road was closed for a time until the water receded.
But Schultz said one of the worst hit places was New Hamburg. Much of that old town is not only built on a flood plain, but the Nith River forms an oxbow that surrounds it.
Flows there peaked at 425 cubic metres per second. That flow magnitude has only been exceeded once in the past 57 years of gauge records. Schultz said the worst came in 1975.
Still, he said most of the flood damage was to basements.
Temperatures overnight on Dec. 28 reached highs of 15 degrees in some areas. Flows and levels in the main Grand River and its tributaries were expected to be higher than normal for the next week.
The GRCA was keeping the rivers high for several days in order to drain them. Schultz said the reservoirs are now “pretty close” to where they should be at this time of year.
But, he noted, at the height of the flooding and snowmelt, the water going into the dams was typical of a normal spring melt and runoff.
“We saw in flows you see in a very busy spring,” he said.
He added holding the water for several days cut flooding downstream by as much as 50 per cent. He said the Shand dam at Lake Belwood was up to its June 1 levels, “which is pretty extraordinary.”
Schultz said residents of the watershed were being asked to keep children and pets away from water courses because banks are slippery and water is cold and flowing fast, posing a dangerous hazard.
