The recent flooding and high water levels along Lake Ontario are just the latest warnings that Hamilton needs to keep moving to keep up with climate change, says Ward 5 Councillor Chad Collins.
He says the water levels were running about a half-a-metre higher than the 100-year average, and the term 100-year storm seems to come up every few years.
Collins said this is a warning for all of us.
“Major storms are rolling through various parts of the province and communities are being hit because the infrastructure for all communities is based on storm events of a smaller magnitude,” he said. “We’re trying to cope with the ways and means to deal with it and accelerate infrastructure improvements that will help us deal with it. I don’t think we’ll ever going to eliminate it.”
“We’re at the mercy of Mother Nature and where those storms hit,” he added. “Today it’s Hamilton; tomorrow it’s Burlington and next week it’s somewhere else.”
Collins said in the short term for the Beach Strip, the water may not recede until June.
LISTEN: Coun. Chad Collins joins the Bill Kelly Show