Water levels continue to climb as Kingston-area residents play waiting game

For weeks now, property owners on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River have been keeping a close watch on local water levels.

The water in Lake Ontario has gone up a centimetre a day for the last week, and on Thursday, water levels officially surpassed the record levels set in 2017.

“There’s a lot of water in the system right now,” said Krista Fazackerley with the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority.

When asked if parts of Kingston could see serious flooding, Fazackerley says it’s unclear.

“It all depends on Mother Nature. If we get a lot more rain, we can see these levels start to come up again. If we have a little more of a drier spell, it’ll allow water to move through the system and, hopefully, start to decline.”

WATCH: Lake Ontario flooding exceeds 2017 level in Cobourg

1:39 Lake Ontario flooding exceeds 2017 level in Cobourg

There are a number of places in Kingston that have already felt some of the effects of flooding.

Portions of St. Lawrence Avenue in the city’s east end aren’t completely covered in water but levels are rising.

Just a stone’s throw away, Abbey Dawn Road is completely closed due to flooding.

“When the water levels started to rise and encroach on to Abbey Dawn Road, we monitored very closely, multiple times a day, to make sure that we were reacting appropriately in the best interest of public safety,” said Bill Linnen, director of Kingston’s public works.

WATCH: Kingston being pro-active on possible flooding

2:01 Kingston being pro-active on possible flooding

Linnen says that the city is not only dealing with public safety but the infrastructure of the road as well.