Otonabee Conservation has issued a water safety statement for the Peterborough area due to impending significant rainfall.The statement issued Tuesday morning advises residents to keep away from all waterbodies and structures such as dams, culverts and bridges.Rain beginning Tuesday afternoon will continue through the night with possible thunderstorms and into Wednesday. More than 30 millimetres of rain is expected to fall in the region.“This volume of precipitation will cause local water levels/flows to increase, but is not expected to cause ‘overland flooding’ (when water flows over normally dry land and enters property due to a river or lake overflowing its banks),” stated Gord Earle, flood forecasting and warning duty officer.
The conservation authority says the low-pressure system will also bring 30 millimetres to the area north of the Kawartha Lakes, impacting the shores of the Kawartha Lakes, Rice Lake and Trent River since precipitation in the Haliburton Reservoir Lakes drain southward into the Kawartha Lakes which drain into the Otonabee River.
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“Existing conditions, such as the combination of high water levels and flows, slippery banks and cold water temperatures, pose a serious safety risk,” said Earle.
Ponding of water is expected to occur in low-lying areas where drainage is poor, said Earle. Also, catch basins and culverts may be clogged with debris and/or ice causing inundation of adjacent roads, sidewalks, bicycle paths and multi-use trails. In addition, ice cover on area lakes, rivers and wetlands should be considered unsafe.
The water safety statement will remain in effect until Monday.
Similar water safety statements have also been issued by Kawartha Conservation and the Ganaraksa Region Conservation Authority which covers Northumberland County.
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