Some minor flooding along St. John River but levels appear to be stabilizing

<p>FREDERICTON – Emergency measures officials in New Brunswick were expecting the St. John River to reach flood peak and then stabilize on Saturday.</p> <p>Water from melting snow and heavy rain has already spilled over the banks in some parts of northwestern New Brunswick, and in the Fredericton and Maugerville areas.</p> <p>”There’s some flooding down river and up river as well but nothing of catastrophic consequence,” said Karl Wilmot, spokesman for the province’s River Watch program.</p> <p>”Although there’s a bit of a fluctuation in levels we won’t consider the flood stage range to be easing unless there’s a major shift downward.”</p> <p>Wilmot estimated that could take the better part of a week, assuming there was no major precipitation.</p> <p>No one had been forced from their homes by rising waters but at least one road was closed in the Maugerville and Sheffield area along Route 105.</p> <p>”The Department of Transportation put barricades up there on Friday from Bluebird Corner all the way to the Jemseg bridge,” said Wilmot.</p> <p>Wayne Knorr, a spokesman for the City of Fredericton, said the river was expected to reach 6.9 metres in their area on Saturday, about half a metre above flood stage.</p> <p>Knorr said one downtown parking lot and a few low-lying residential lanes were under water but no one had to be moved.</p> <p>With showers in the forecast he said they would continue to closely monitor the river but he was hopeful levels would begin to recede over the next couple of days.</p> <p>”It’s all dependent on the water that’s coming downstream from up north,” he said. “But the tracking seems to be indicating that we’re going to be seeing decreasing river levels.”</p>