By Staff
October 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Neither the city or the regional governments wants to get caught over poor flood potential warnings.
This time everyone appears to be in town so we know where our leaders are – and they are telling us that the remnants of the hurricane that slammed into the west side of Mexico has worked its way north and that the city could see up to 50 cm of rainfall in a short period of time
The message to the citizens is that Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Halton Region, including Burlington, for significant rainfall beginning early tomorrow morning and continuing throughout the day.
The city wants to be sure rainwater like this doesn’t collect anywhere is the city.
“The city began preparing for this weather event yesterday, checking inlet and outlet structures and catch basins to ensure they are clear,” said Cathy Robertson, director of road and parks maintenance at the City of Burlington.
“We are also encouraging residents to take steps around their homes to help reduce the risk of flooding,” Robertson said. “We are asking residents to check catch basins on their streets to make sure leaves are not blocking the flow of storm water into the sewers.”
If you are scheduled to receive leaf pick next week from the city’s leaf collection program, please wait until after the storm before raking your leaves to the curb for collection as gusty winds tomorrow will result in blowing leaves.
There are residents throughout the city who do not want this kind of experience again.
Tips to protect your property from flooding during a heavy rainfall:
• Ensure your eavestroughs and downspouts are clear of debris, draining properly, away from the foundation walls of your home.
• Use an extension for your downspouts and ensure they are directed away from the foundation walls.
• Look around your property for any obstructions that could prevent water from draining away from your home.
• Ensure window wells are free from debris to ensure proper drainage.
• Clear debris away from catch basins (sewer grates) on the road to help the flow of storm water into the storm sewer.
Conservation Halton advises that the Environment Canada Weather Office is forecasting a low pressure system associated with the remnants of Hurricane Patricia will be moving into the Great Lakes region this evening. The system is expected to bring significant rainfall along with strong and gusty winds over the next couple of days. Rain will be heavy at times. Latest indications suggest 25 to 40 mm of rain in most areas with locally higher amounts of 40 to 50 mm possible, especially near Lakes Erie and Ontario. There is also the possibility of convective cells within the storm which could add an additional 10 to 20 mm in isolated locations.
The forecasted rainfall will result in higher than normal water levels and flows in all our streams and creeks, resulting in dangerous flow conditions. While no flooding is anticipated, watercourses will be flowing higher than normal causing local streams and creeks to become dangerous, especially in the vicinity of culverts and bridges.
All good news – hopefully we have learned some lessons.
