Flood Warning - March 26, 2025

The Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (ORCA) has issued a flood warning for the Trent Severn Waterway and local watercourses within their jurisdiction.

Weather:

40 to 60 millimeters of precipitation is expected, starting Friday, March 28 and continuing throughout the weekend into Monday, March 31. Forecasted precipitation is regional-scale, falling on both the Haliburton-Reservoir Lakes region of the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW) and the more southerly area under jurisdiction of Otonabee Conservation. The highest precipitation amounts are expected to fall in the north in the form of snow and freezing rain, whereas a mix of snow and rain is expected to the south. This significant precipitation event will be immediately followed by an upward trend in air temperatures.

Flood Risk:

Melting snow and precipitation in the Haliburton-Reservoir Lakes region of the TSW has already increased water levels and flows on the hydrologically connected Kawartha Lakes, Rice Lake and Otonabee River. Also, local watercourses, including the Ouse River, Indian River and tributaries to the Otonabee River are experiencing high water levels and flows due to snowmelt and rainfall run-off.

The forecasted precipitation will cause a rapid increase to water levels and flows on watercourses where the precipitation falls as rain. A second pulse of increased water levels and flows is expected as air temperatures trend upwards, beginning next week. As a result, flooding of low-lying, flood vulnerable development areas on the shores of the Trent-Severn Waterway and local watercourses within the jurisdiction of Otonabee Conservation is imminent or occurring. It is also possible that the remaining ice cover will break-up due to a rapid rise in water levels and flows.

More information is available on the ORCA website.