The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority is warning residents across the watershed to use extreme caution near all watercourses and keep children and pets away from rivers, streams, ditches and ponds as water levels are expected to remain high and more rainfall hits the region in the coming days.
The local conservation authority issued an updated warning Monday as a slow-moving Colorado low is forecast to move through southern Ontario over the next three days, bringing continued above-freezing temperatures for most of the region and more rain for southwestern Ontario. Coupled with the melting snow, this low-pressure system is expected to bring heavy precipitation.
Forecasts call for 20 to 40 millimeters of rain in the Upper Thames watershed Tuesday and Wednesday, with higher totals predicted in the southern half of the region. While Perth County isn’t under a rainfall warning like nearby Oxford and Middlesex counties and the City of London, as much as 30 mm of rain is expected to fall in Stratford and the surrounding area.
“Stream banks are slippery and unstable and the water is cold, fast-moving and higher than normal,” conservation authority officials said in a press release Monday. “Any ice cover will be weakened and unstable … (and) flood-control reservoirs are especially hazardous due to fluctuating water levels.”
As the ground is already saturated and water levels above normal, conservation authority officials said they expect streams and rivers to respond to the forecasted rain with runoff totals similar in magnitude to last week. If the higher precipitation forecasts materialize, some low-lying flood plains may be inundated, officials said.
While conservation authority officials say water levels will likely remain high for the remainder of the week, serious flooding is still not expected at this time.