Plan 2014 (High Lake Levels)

scotto

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#21
From the City website;
Flooded basement from the recent heavy rainfall on April 20, 2017?

Was your home hit hard by the recent heavy rainfall on April 20, 2017, causing flooding to your basement? The City of Hamilton may be able to help. We’ve set up the Residential Municipal Disaster Relief Assistance Program (RMDRAP). It’s meant to help in cases just like this. If the basement in your residential property was flooded as a direct result of the storm, you may be eligible for some financial assistance from the City of Hamilton.

How to apply for assistance:
1. Call our Hotline: Telephone 1-866-596-2242. You’ll reach our Program Administrators, Cunningham Lindsey Canada.
2. Don’t Wait! The deadline for submitting a completed application is August 31, 2017.
3. Tell your neighbours: They can start their own application by calling the hotline, if they were affected by the storm as well.
 

scotto

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#22
Rain finally stops, but flooding continues to cause grief in Hamilton

Hamilton Spectator
By Carmela Fragomeni


The sun finally made an appearance on Sunday, but the city and homeowners continued to feel the effects of the steady deluge of rain that swept the area for a week and flooded local basements and roads.

"Because of the extraordinary rain in the last few weeks, we continue to see things like the mudslide on Kenilworth. We'll have to continue to monitor the Escarpment face," said city public works general manager Dan McKinnon.

And with increased Lake Ontario water levels at half-a-metre higher than the 100-year average, Hamilton's Beach Strip residents will continue to be affected, he said.

"The lake levels are unusually high. They will not decline quickly. … It'll take a while before things get back to normal," McKinnon said.

"There's no question we've had an unusual spring so far, creating challenges for public works here in Hamilton. … We'd certainly appreciate an opportunity to dry out here."

The Weather Network reported that 85.6 mm of rain fell in Hamilton last week from Monday to Saturday.

Police and fire officials reported about 12 to 15 minor vehicle collisions in and around the Red Hill Valley Parkway and the QEW area Saturday afternoon, likely due to the rain.

Jim Howlett, a longtime Beach Strip resident, said on Sunday that the Beach Strip continues to be saturated.

"It's not very good," he said. "Just because the rain has stopped, it does not make Lake Ontario get out of your basement."

Howlett, whose small crawl space under his home still has water and who lost his furnace and water heater to flooding damage, said other residents on the Beach Strip continue to pump water out "like crazy and they will not stop pumping for several weeks.
"Many people have lost water heaters, freezers and appliances."

The water level in some homes, however, had dropped an inch or two between Friday and Sunday, because the east wind that brought in large waves from the lake have subsided, he said.


Read more;
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/7...looding-continues-to-cause-grief-in-hamilton/
 

scotto

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#23
Fast-rising lake eating away at Hamilton shoreline

Hamilton Spectator
By Matthew Van Dongen


A swelling Lake Ontario is chomping bigger bites out Hamilton's shoreline this year.

Cyclists and dog-walkers alike slowed Monday to peer down the new bluff created by surging waves gnawing at the shoreline east of Barangas on the Beach.

More pieces of turf appear ready to drop off the edge just three paces from the edge of the paved Waterfront Trail, while still-leafy trees now sprawl in the lake with newly bared roots jutting up in the air.

The damage is not always so dramatic — but locals are increasingly seeing signs of erosion "in fast-forward mode" up-and-down the lakeshore, said longtime beach strip resident Jim Howlett.

"There's undercutting of the bank, of the dunes, all along the trail," said Howlett, a member of the neighbourhood community council. "We're seeing tonnes of sand washed away … You have to wonder if we'll get to the point of losing a portion of the trail."

Erosion is a bigger problem this year on the lake thanks to the highest water levels seen since the early 1990s combined with a record spate of relentless rain and occasional east winds thrashing waves against the Hamilton shoreline.

The city was already repairing drowned and crumbled sections of the recreational trail ringing Hamilton harbour in April. (Recent rains also contributed to the closure of York Road in Dundas because of swelling creek waters undermining a culvert.)

Watershed planning director Scott Peck said erosion is particularly noticeable along the stretch of Confederation Park the Hamilton Conservation Authority manages for the city.

The regulatory agency is also hearing reports from homeowners in Stoney Creek and Winona wanting permission to fix "failing" shoreline protection walls. (Significant erosion of some lakefront Stoney Creek properties has been a recognized problem even without high lake levels in the past few years.)

Along the Winona lakeshore, LeeAnn Lemay watched in disbelief last week as storm-surge waves overtopped her metal-and-concrete break wall and washed away topsoil in her backyard.

"We've never seen the water so high," said Lemay, who has lived within spitting distance of the lake since 2001. "Our wall is in good shape and our house is up high, so we should be fine. Some of the neighbours are worried about losing land, though."

Coun. Chad Collins said he is fielding calls from beach strip residents about the lake "eating away" at painstakingly planted grassy dunes along the sandbar separating the lake from the bay.

Others have expressed fears about what the high lake levels and stormy weather mean for the 50-metre-tall hydro transmission towers that follow the shoreline — some with feet sitting in increasingly high water. You can cross that concern off your list, anyway.

Hydro One checked out the towers after the 86-mm, two-day deluge ended Friday and didn't find any problems, said spokesperson Nancy Clark Monday. "The transmission towers are designed and built for the beach condition."

Howlett also worries Hydro One's decision to cut thousands of trees and scrub bushes along the hydro corridor last year came "at the exact wrong time."

"Those tree roots were like rebar for our sand dunes. A lot of us residents kind of depend on that sand staying put, you know?" he said, noting the beach trail represents the high point in an otherwise low-lying and flood-prone residential strip.

Collins conceded its "frustrating" for residents and environmental groups who have teamed up in recent years to plant protective grasses and other plants along the beach strip, specifically to fight erosion. A planned planting expedition was axed last weekend because of the rain.

The city hired a consultant to examine erosion protection options last year along the beach strip, with the main suggestions including a monitoring program and adding a stone blockade in a short section near the lift bridge.

Collins said he would consider updating that study if lake levels are projected to stay high.

"Erosion is a natural part of life on the lakeshore," he said. "But I don't think there's any doubt the high (lake) levels and some of these storm events are combining to speed up the losses we're seeing in some areas."



mvandongen@thespec.com

905-526-3241 | [MENTION=650]matt[/MENTION]atthespec



Matthew Van Dongen is the city hall reporter for the Hamilton Spectator. Email: mvandongen@thespec.com. Twitter: [MENTION=650]matt[/MENTION]atthespec.


http://www.thespec.com/news-story/7294227-fast-rising-lake-eating-away-at-hamilton-shoreline/
 

Opie

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The Beach Strip
#24
Morning Scott,
Question for you and any other long time resident who can remember past winters, have there ever been or seen ice jams/flows that have pushed " way" up onto the beach after a winters storm? Wondering with all the current and potential for future erosion, how far could the ice go up onto the beach?
 

Opie

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#25
Tonights news on Global TV reports that Lake Ontario is at the same record level recorded back in June 1952. It is still expected to crest later next month. Tomorrow I will have some time to google more information about this
 

scotto

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#26
Morning Scott,
Question for you and any other long time resident who can remember past winters, have there ever been or seen ice jams/flows that have pushed " way" up onto the beach after a winters storm? Wondering with all the current and potential for future erosion, how far could the ice go up onto the beach?
Are you referring to our ice banks that we get in some winters? I recall the old principal at Bell Cairn stating that the ice banks helped save the beach from erosion.
 

scotto

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#27

Opie

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#28
Morning Scott,
Yes I am referring to the ice banks. Our family had a 3 seasons cottage on Georgian Bay and I remember thru the 60's to mid 70's, my father driving up to it on several winter weekends to check up on it. Sometimes we would see huge pieces of ice that had been pushed dozens of feet up onto the flat shore line. This stopped happening mid 70's once the lake level started to drop. So I am just thinking ahead depending on how or what the IJC does later this year with the Lake Ontario level if we may see ice banks on the shore if the winter stays cold enough.
 

Opie

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#29
thanks for the chart link.
Reading the statements from the IJC regarding the lake levels for the year and looking at the numbers on the chart. It will be similar to what 1973 was like and the forth coming years will be the same, crazy.

Not trying to point fingers or blame anyone but again reading the IJC statements, it would seem that all levels of government knew this was coming. If so why had there been no preparation for the rising levels or announcements to be on the ready for the potential of flooding. It was only after the flooding started we are told that the levels will be kept this high for the next several months?? I will keep digging around.
 

scotto

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Feb 15, 2004
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The Beach Strip
#30
Morning Scott,
Yes I am referring to the ice banks. Our family had a 3 seasons cottage on Georgian Bay and I remember thru the 60's to mid 70's, my father driving up to it on several winter weekends to check up on it. Sometimes we would see huge pieces of ice that had been pushed dozens of feet up onto the flat shore line. This stopped happening mid 70's once the lake level started to drop. So I am just thinking ahead depending on how or what the IJC does later this year with the Lake Ontario level if we may see ice banks on the shore if the winter stays cold enough.
The last time I took pictures of the ice banks was back 2011 for Beach Rescue and you can see they a good half mile out, we have had them since then but not every year.
 

scotto

Administrator
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Feb 15, 2004
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The Beach Strip
#31
thanks for the chart link.
Reading the statements from the IJC regarding the lake levels for the year and looking at the numbers on the chart. It will be similar to what 1973 was like and the forth coming years will be the same, crazy.

Not trying to point fingers or blame anyone but again reading the IJC statements, it would seem that all levels of government knew this was coming. If so why had there been no preparation for the rising levels or announcements to be on the ready for the potential of flooding. It was only after the flooding started we are told that the levels will be kept this high for the next several months?? I will keep digging around.
I would have to also say that it seemed every time I put the news on last winter, the eastern side of Canada was getting hit with another storm and another pile of snow. Most of that once it melted had no where to go except towards the St. Lawrence Seaway and still is. That flooded out areas along the seaway and Lake Ontario had to be slowed down which also was a part of raising the level.


http://ijc.org/greatlakesconnection...-ijc-public-meetings-voice-thoughts-concerns/

http://www.ijc.org/en_/Great_Lakes_Water_Quantity

I took this picture a few days ago and don't recall the level being that high for some time. When a ship goes through the canal, it pushes the level right to the top and any storm floods both sides.

 

Opie

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#32
Still reading thru the IJC web site and also the numerous news threads regarding the lake level. As I go thru it I find that the previous plan allowed water to be released at the Cornwall Dams if the Lake Ontario was seeing a higher than normal amount of water due to storms. Also the previous plan would have dropped the lake level prior to the spring rains to avoid some of the flooding down stream on the St Lawrence. Two sides to this, American vs Canadian, if reading the US media posts they feel that they are getting the raw end of this deal that Obama signed before leaving office, and that Canada is benefiting from it. Gov Cuomo is asking President Trump to kill the plan because of all the damage its causing already in up sate New York. I will keep reading more on what the IJC's rules are on triggering the release of water from Lake Ontario
 

scotto

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Feb 15, 2004
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#33
Still reading thru the IJC web site and also the numerous news threads regarding the lake level. As I go thru it I find that the previous plan allowed water to be released at the Cornwall Dams if the Lake Ontario was seeing a higher than normal amount of water due to storms. Also the previous plan would have dropped the lake level prior to the spring rains to avoid some of the flooding down stream on the St Lawrence. Two sides to this, American vs Canadian, if reading the US media posts they feel that they are getting the raw end of this deal that Obama signed before leaving office, and that Canada is benefiting from it. Gov Cuomo is asking President Trump to kill the plan because of all the damage its causing already in up sate New York. I will keep reading more on what the IJC's rules are on triggering the release of water from Lake Ontario
What about the wide spread damage on the Canadian side and who will be complaining a couple years from now when ships have to carry less cargo because the lakes are too low?
 

Opie

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#35
Took a walk out to the pier last night and down to the waters edge. Yesterdays wave action has taken more of the berm away. Best guestimate is about 6' lost so far since last weekend. IMG_20170511_1855392.jpg

As you can see with the gentle roll of the waves, the lake is not far from being level with the pier
IMG_20170511_1913575.jpg IMG_20170511_1913142.jpg IMG_20170511_1913244 (2).jpg
 

scotto

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Feb 15, 2004
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#36
Today at 06:00 and again at 12:00 we are at the all time height of 75.895. This does not include wave height.
I drove by the canal today and the water level looks almost at the same height as the pier.
Hopefully it starts going the other way soon.

Another from member Maggie;
 

Opie

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#37
Hey Scott,
we rode the bikes past the boat lakeside rescue station tonight and wondered if you will be able to get it into the water. Mother nature took a good chunk of the beach below of it away?
 
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scotto

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 15, 2004
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The Beach Strip
#38
Hey Scott,
we rode the bikes past the boat lakeside rescue station tonight and wondered if you will be able to get it into the water. Mother nature took a good chunk of the beach below of it away?
And the City had the pump end behind the lift for a few days and that made it worse. I'm sure they will be able to get the lift into the lake but what happens when all that sand comes back? Good luck getting the lift back out in the fall.
 

Opie

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The Beach Strip
#39
I know all of this thread has been about the lakeside but wondering how are those homes along Beach Blvd doing? I see the city still has the pump going, draining the water lake side and out onto the ditch by the QEW. Is there any idea how high up the water table has come?
 

scotto

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Feb 15, 2004
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The Beach Strip
#40
I seen the pumps at Fletcher Ave which is the first side street on the bay side and only one house, MTO and City crews were pumping out to the QEW side. That must be a low spot there.
And I was talking to a couple shipping guys yesterday and they said the water level has come up 1.6 meters. When you look at the pier from the Path, the lake looks almost level with it.



http://www.hiea.org/documents/2017 05 Fcst Ltr - Great Lakes Water Levels Information.pdf



 
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