Progress has been made in removing an ice jam from the Credit River in Brampton where a community was flooded last week, but weather conditions continue to pose a challenge, officials said Tuesday.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown and Brampton fire Chief Bill Boyes provided an update on flooding in the city’s Churchville neighbourhood, near Churchville Road and Steeles Avenue West.
Brown said around 100 homes were damaged as a result of the flood which began last week.
He said almost everyone has been able to return home, except for residents of six homes where officials are still working to get power back.
“Obviously it’s been a very difficult few days in this historic neighbourhood — one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the City of Brampton,” Brown said.
Brown said crews have made “significant progress” in getting water to flow down the Credit River again.
“It’s starting to return to its natural alignment and we’ve had two excavators working full time to break up the ice and make sure the water can flow again,” he said.
“The one caveat in this positive news is that we’re seeing very mild temperatures right now that will cause additional pressures on the Credit River and could cause further problems, but with the dedication of public works and the Region of Peel, we’re very optimistic we’re going to get through this.”
Brown said a team from the province will be on-site Thursday to assess the extent of the damage.
“That’s very important because insurance won’t cover the level of damage that we’ve seen to homes in Churchville and so we’re going to need that provincial assistance,” he said.
“They’re going to come in to make an assessment whether it meets the provincial requirement to provide assistance.”
Brown said with additional rain and snow melt on Tuesday, it’s especially important to have the river flow in its natural direction and have the ice broken up further.
Boyes also spoke of the progress being made, noting that water levels dropped 12 inches since the early morning hours.
He said there are also three large pumps pumping water out of low-lying areas.
“We’re doing everything we can to stop any more flooding from happening here, but we’re battling the weather as well so that presents a challenge,” Boyes said.
He said officials are also monitoring any potential ice that could come from up the Credit River.
Boyes said he wants residents to be prepared in the event they need to leave again and noted that crews remain on scene.