Both the Cataraqui and Quinte conservation authorities have issued water safety statements for their regions, and flood warnings may be imminent with rain predicted for next week.
Warm temperatures and forecast rain has the Cataraqui Conservation Authority advising people to be careful around lakes, rivers and streams.
The authority’s Krista Fazackerly says weather conditions are thinning the ice and making it unstable.
The authority says widespread flooding isn’t expected but could occur in some low-lying areas.
Utilities Kingston’s Jim Miller says checking sump pumps is just one precaution homeowners can take.
“If you do have a backwater valve to protect your system from a backwater effect when there’s really heavy flows, making sure that the seal is working properly, that the valve is working properly. ”
Anywhere from 25 to 35 mm of rain is expected to fall early next week, bringing already high-water levels up.
Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority says water levels in Lake Ontario have dropped 3 cm this week, but they’re still 27 cms higher than the average for this time of year.
Fazackerly says it’s still too early to predict what the rest of the year will be like.
“Do we get a lot of precipitation this spring, and if the ground’s still frozen, so that precipitation has nowhere to go, it can’t absorb into the ground so it’s going directly into the waterway,” she said.
A quick snow melt can also raise water levels dramatically.
Homeowners along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario faced thousands of dollars of damage due to the flooding last year.
Businesses also took an economic hit.
Lori Buzzi says she hopes this year isn’t a repeat. She owns Collins Bay Marina in Kingston.
“It’s certainly a concern, last year was very extreme and we had a lot of extra work because of it.”
Boat traffic was down and didn’t pick up until late in the season, says Buzzi.
“It was a good month behind schedule… there were a lot of obstacles in the water as well so people were afraid to go anywhere and hit a log.”
Those that live or make their living on the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario will continue to follow the weather forecasts to see how this spring develops over the coming weeks and months.