A major rainfall event on July 2 and 3, 1997, created a lot of headaches for our watershed residents and municipalities. Road washouts, sewer backups and isolated flooding were just some of the problems experienced. An intense storm moved into the region in the early hours of July 2 and began to dump rain at unprecedented intensity. The worst of the storm occurred between 5:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon with over 90 mm of rain being recorded. The total precipitation for the two-day period was 119 mm. (The normal total for all of July is 75 mm). A flood warning was issued in the early afternoon and upgraded to a flood advisory a few hours later. Conservation staff monitored our stream gauges and saw a sharp rise in water levels in the four watercourses on which we have equipment. The advisory remained in effect into the following day, as river levels were still quite high. Most watercourses crested around 6:00 a.m. on July 3.

Washout on CN tracks in Shuniah Twp. left a culvert exposed and tracks dangling.

The storm's impact was felt in many parts of the Authority's jurisdiction. Shuniah Township was the hardest hit by damage. Closure of the Trans-Canada Highway and Lakeshore Drive due to washouts left many residents without road access. Streams that are typically little more than a trickle turned in torrents several metres wide which carved through backyards and swept around houses. In the City, ponds formed on street corners, sections of road crumbled and dozens of basements had water back up into them. Rivers in Thunder Bay swelled but did not affect any buildings. The Neebing-McIntyre Floodway was operating under record conditions. Water depths of a metre-and-a-half were diverted from the Neebing River into the Floodway channel. That volume of water would have caused considerable problems for Intercity residents if the Floodway were not in place.

Lakeshore Dr. in Shuniah Twp. was hit hard. This stream west of Wild Goose washed out the road, leaving several homes without road access and exposing a gas line and culvert.

The storm was significant for its intensity. However, the Conservation Authority knows that it was not even close to the one-in-a-hundred-years storm for which our regulations plan. We must continue to ensure that development near watercourses does not place life and property in jeopardy during these natural episodes.

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Lakehead Region Conservation Authority P.O. Box 10427; 130 Conservation Rd. Thunder Bay, ON  P7B 6T8 (Canada) Telephone:(807) 344-5857  Fax:(807) 345-9156