‘It’s deja vu’: Durham Region on high alert as Lake Ontario water levels rise

Residents living near Lake Ontario are preparing for a potentially rough weekend.

With rain and powerful winds in the forecast, and with water levels in south Whitby noticeably rising, there’s concern it could lead to more damaging floods.

Crews have been out pumping the water back into Lake Ontario after water breached its banks onto a portion of Brock Street South Thursday.

Sand bags have also been put in place to stop the flooding.

“It’s deja vu,” said Perry Sisson with the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority. “We were here in 2017; we saw the kind of harm it can do.”

With another 20 to 25 millimetres of rain expected on Saturday, Sisson is concerned that we could be seeing more flooding before the water starts receding.

“The waterfront’s a beautiful place to be and we like to get close to it, but unfortunately when you get into these type of conditions, it’s not ideal to get close,” Sisson said. “There can be some very dangerous situations when we get the storm and the winds pushing — you don’t want to be too close to the lake.”

As a result, sidewalks along the waterfront have been closed off.

WATCH: Toronto Island homes remain at risk from rising flood waters

2:13 Toronto Island homes remain at risk from rising flood waters

People who frequent the path say the problem has been progressing.

“It’s a bit disconcerting, wondering what’s going to happen next. Will it get worse or not?” said Lorna Smith, Whitby resident.

CLOCA has a flood warning in place until the middle of June.

“People are much better prepared this time,” said Sisson. “There’s a lot of sand bagging that’s taking place. Unfortunately, there’s some points that you can’t do much more than pump out the damage afterwards.”

Down the line in Bowmanville, Sarah Delicate, a local resident, is tired of being on surge watch — a problem that has already cost her over $7,000.

“It is a forecast away from my house being under water,” Delicate said.

“People can’t do this year after year. It’s extraordinarily traumatic on people, financially devastating; it’s not how people can live.”

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Municipalities and residents along the waterfront will be monitoring the levels over the next few days, fearing the flooding and erosion will only get worse before it gets better.