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Burnt River Black River and Gull River Flood Contingency Plan
Objective:
The objective of this plan is to preplan and prepare for flooding events in the Burnt River, Black River and Gull River area of the City of Kawartha Lakes.
Responsibilities:
1. Trent Severn Waterway will be providing verbal updated progress reports on the status of the water levels, and potential areas of concern.
Automatic emails pertaining to critical water levels will be sent out from flow metering stations as well.
The Department of Public Works will be providing stockpiles of sand and empty bags on those cottage roads in the flood plain areas.
For those who are unable to fill the bags, a stockpile of filled sandbags will be made available for pick up at the Roads Department buildings in Burnt River.
In emergency situations, Public Works will deliver sand bags and provide assistance with their placement.
2. Emergency services will be provided by the City of Kawartha Lakes Fire and Emergency Medical Services. This will include evacuation
assistance, if needed.
3. The OPP will be providing security as well as evacuation assistance, if needed.
4. Social Services is responsible for the co-ordination of emergency social
services, including emergency shelter, food, clothing and personal
services.
Recommendations:
For those vulnerable to flooding the following recommendations were made:
1. Start moving furniture to the upper levels of your residence.
2. Fill a sufficient supply of sand bags from the supply provided by the City of Kawartha Lakes.
3. If you do leave your home prior to the flood or during an evacuation, shut off the electricity at the control panel.
4. Wherever possible make arrangements in advance for alternate accommodations with family or friends in case you need to leave your home due to flooding.
Points to remember:
• Have a supply of all necessary prescriptions and medical supplies in case you need to leave on short notice;
• Bring important papers with you such as ID, personal documents;
• If you have pets, remember their needs as well.
Any residents requiring emergency accommodations, and who have not made their own arrangements in advance, should contact A Place Called Home at 64 Lindsay St. South in Lindsay or call 705-328-0905 (toll free:
1-866-520-2689). A Place Called Home is available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week to provide emergency shelter and support services.
The Canadian Red Cross can provide general information on disaster personal preparedness. Contact the Lindsay and District office at 705-324- 8960 or toll free 1-866-386-8960.
Social Services inquiries can be directed to the Social Services office at
705-324-9870.
Communications:
The various Burnt River cottagers associations have offered their support in providing contact persons from whom residents can get regular status updates as well as emergency services information.
These volunteer contact persons will be the liaison with the various agencies and will be given regular updates. They will in turn, be contacting all residents within their associations with updates and emergency services recommendations.
The following web sites and telephone numbers are to be used for up to date information on the status of the flood (see Appendix B). Although these contacts are provided it is highly recommended that residents rely on the consistent information being provided to your association representatives.
The central contact person is the North District Public Works Area Manager. The Manager will receive the information from the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW) and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and update the Coboconk Service Center. The Manager will then forward the current state and expected changes to the City of Kawartha Lakes Communications Officer.
The Communications Officer will ensure the information is posted to the City of Kawartha Lakes Website at www.city.kawarthalakes.on.ca/flood
The Communications Officer will prepare Media Releases and update the Cottage Associations, the Municipal Call Center and Council with the current flood information.
As a back up, information will be faxed to the Burnt River Fire Hall. The
Information will be placed in a prominent location for viewing by the residents and cottage associations.
Note – Residents and representatives from the cottage associations are not to contact TSW or MNR directly.
See Appendix A – Communication Flow Chart
See Appendix B – Contact List
Flooding Defined:
A flood is defined as a situation where water levels in a watercourse exceed the channel banks.
Flooding in Ontario is a fairly common occurrence. Heavy spring rains and snowmelt commonly result in flooding, particularly in larger watersheds. High local rainfall associated with severe thunderstorms can cause flooding within smaller urban watersheds.
Winter ice jams associated with frazil ice formation or spring break up may also result in severe flooding situations. Many watercourses have flood susceptible developments that were settled prior to current planning standards.
Floods can happen at any time of the year and there is a common opinion that the frequency of extreme weather and flooding will increase due to climate change. Accordingly, flood awareness and preparedness to deal with flood emergencies are critical to public safety.
The responsibility for dealing with flood contingency planning in Ontario is shared by Municipalities, Conservation Authorities and the Ministry of Natural
Resources. In the case of the Burnt River System, Parks Canada (Trent-Severn Waterway) will play a lead role in Flood Contingency Planning.
The Trent-Severn Waterway
The Trent-Severn Waterway is an interconnected series of lakes, improved river channels and artificial canal cuts stretching for 386 km through the heart of Ontario.
The water in the system comes from two major watersheds , the Trent and Severn. The Trent River is the largest river in Southern Ontario while Lake Simcoe in the Severn watershed is the largest lake.
The Waterway, including its tributary lakes and rivers, is an important economic, environmental and recreational resource used by thousands of boaters, shoreline residents, businesses and vacationers every year. It also provides water for power generation, municipal water supplies, and agriculture and supports a tremendous variety of fish and wildlife.
The Trent River Basin
The Trent River basin drains more than 12,000 km² of Central Ontario. The Trent
River basin encompasses some 218 lakes in the Haliburton Highlands region, 37
of which are directly controlled by Waterway dams.
Water from these lakes flows south along the Gull River, Burnt River, Nogies Creek, Mississauga River, Eels Creek or Jack Creek systems into the Kawartha Lakes and other TSW lakes.
The shallow soils of the Canadian Shield which characterizes the Haliburton Highlands and specifically in this case the Burnt River cannot absorb much water, which will result in more rapid “Flash Runoff”.
Water levels and flows throughout the Trent and Severn drainage basins are managed by Parks Canada an Agency of Environment Canada.
The Trent-Severn Waterway is divided into four administrative areas, with offices in Campbellford, Lakefield, Kirkfield and Haliburton. The Waterway Headquarters is located in Peterborough.
Water management on the Waterway is intended to regulate water levels and flows in order to:
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lessen flooding of residential, agricultural and commercial property
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permit safe boating
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provide water for recreational activities
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protect fish and wildlife habitat
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help maintain water quality
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