Flood risk reduced in Waterloo region as water levels recede

Although water levels remain high in the Grand River, conservation authorities say the risk of flooding in Waterloo region and surrounding areas has been greatly reduced.

At around 2:00 p.m. Thursday, an ice jam downstream of Brantford began to break, providing relief to that city, which has been experiencing significant flooding since Wednesday.

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"The nice thing about that stretch of the river as it heads out of Brantford and on downstream is there is a lot of floodplain relief. So, that ice had somewhere to go," said Cam Linwood, communications co-ordinator with the Grand River Conservation Authority.

Flooding moves downstream

There were fears that the ice and debris that had gathered behind the jam would speed down the river, flooding communities south of the city.

Instead, Linwood said most of the ice and debris ended up on the shore; however, there are reports of widespread flooding in Six Nations and Cayuga.

"Where in Cambridge we did see quite a large rush of water and debris move downstream, what we're seeing in Brantford — because the dynamics of the river are different down there — we are seeing that ice move downstream at a much slower rate," he told CBC News. "It is spreading out over the floodplain down there."

That has conservation officials, municipals leaders and residents breathing a collective sigh of relief. On Thursday, after the ice jam broke, the mayor of Brantford even lifted evacuation orders, allowing residents to return to their homes. 

Water receding in Waterloo region

Further upstream, the Grand River remains high through Cambridge, but Linwood said the water has already dropped to half the height it had earlier this week.

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Other rivers in the region are also returning to seasonal levels, including the Eramosa River and the Conestogo River. The only river that continues to be unusually high is the Speed River, through Guelph and Cambridge.

Linwood said the Conservation Authority will continue to monitor the conditions in Riverside Park and around Blackbridge Road, where the Speed caused extensive flooding. 

He said water levels through the region will continue to recede, but progress will be slow as the Conservation Authority empties its reservoirs of water that was held back earlier this week.