| City begins sandbagging homes as local creek beds overflows
QUINTE WEST — Much of the city was under a flood alert thanks to a major winter rain storm that moved through the region Monday morning. Overflowed creek beds, catch basins that couldn’t keep up with the water surge, flooded basements and flooded sections of roads were the results of over 50 mm of rain that fell on snow-covered, frozen ground in a matter of just 12-hours. In some cases the runoff over frozen ground produced instant lakes. Rodney Daffoe, owns a home on Hill Road, just northwest of Trenton ward. He’s lived there for six years. “I’ve never seen this much water lying around in January,” said Daffoe. Daffoe was toured his property on an ATV. In some places, flood water was three-feet deep. “I woke up early Monday morning the backyard was flooded. It started rising very quickly,” he said. The basement of his home was spared the flood water. Nearby, home owner Brian Darrah watched helplessly as his basement flooded. Quinte West public crews began sandbagging the house around 11 a.m. “It’s crazy. I’ve never seen this before. I hope it stops soon,” said Darrah. In rural areas of the city farm fields, ditches and pastures were transformed into small lakes thanks to the deluge. A major underpass on Sidney Street in Trenton ward collected over five feet of flood water. Quinte West spent over $250,000 to improve the drainage there last year. Still, the new drainage system couldn’t handle the volume of water. The underpass was reopened around 10:30 a.m. Monday. “It wouldn’t have mattered if we had 10-foot diametre storm drains, it still would have flooded,” said Quinte West public works director Chris Angelo. “When the ground is frozen, the water has no where to go.” Several homes along Riverside Drive in Frankford had flooded basements. The city supplied residents with additional sump-pumps. Sections of the Mayhew Creek also flooded, resulting in the closure of Second Dug Hill Road and Telelphone Road, just west of Trenton. Ministry of Transportation officials sealed off a section of the Glen Miller Road, just north of Hwy. 401. New ‘on’ and ‘off’ ramps are being constructed in the area. “Again, the volume of water was so great, new catch basins could not keep up with the heavy flow,” said Angelo. City works crews were dispatched in the early hours of Monday morning, clearing debris from catch basins. About 40 staff were at various locations. In some cases it was a losing battle. “We had to bypass run-off water at our water treatment plants,” said Angelo. Despite the serious flooding, there was some good news. Much of the flood prone area in Montrose subdivision in Sidney ward remained dry, thanks to about $2 million worth of drainage improvements completed by the city over the past two years. Angelo toured the are Monday morning. “Everything seemed to be working,” he said. He added there has been other localized flooding along sections of rural roads in the north half of the city. Lower Trent Conservation issued a flood warning Monday morning for Quinte West. Other communities under the flood watch include Brighton, Stirling-Rawdon, Trent Hills and Centre Hastings. The LTC will update the flood advisory Tuesday morning, after the low pressure storm system moves through the region. Runoff from the storm combined with snow melt, has resulted in sharp increases in water levels on all creeks and stream in the region. “There will continue to be localized flooding thanks to overflowing of creeks beds in low lying areas,” said LTC spokesperson Marilyn Bucholtz. “We are expecting there will be some homes, also in low lying areas, that will flood.” Despite the rainfall, Bucholtz said the Trent River is stable. “But we will be monitoring that as the week progresses,” she said. A forecast for an additional five to 10 mm of rain for remainder of Monday will result in further increases in water levels. Residents and municipalities should be aware that water levels on local waterways will remain high for at least the next 12 hours. The LTC is advising property home owners to do the following: • Residents living in low lying, flood plain areas are advised to take action now to ensure sump pumps are in good working order • Remove valuables and other items from potential flooded areas • Clear culverts of debris • Exercise extreme caution while travelling on flooded roadways • Monitor local water levels carefully (information available at www.ltc.on.ca) • Test drinking water from private well supplies – contact local Health Unit Local municipalities are the first to respond to and assist with flood emergencies. If you experience a flood emergency, call 911. In addition, mild temperatures and rainfall has weakened ice conditions on the Trent River. Bucholtz said while water levels on the Trent River are stable at this time, residents living along the River should anticipate increases in flows and water levels as the week progresses. The public is urged to exercise caution around all watercourses due to unstable ice conditions and strong currents. Parents are urged to keep children away from all waterways and the Bay of Quinte. Areas around water control structures should be avoided at all times. Anyone having any concerns about flooding can call Lower Trent Conservation at (613) 394-4829. View the original news post here, which contains video content. | 
