County residents flood into meeting on impacts of high water levels

It’s still the middle of winter but preparations are already being made to deal with springtime flooding in Prince Edward County.

With water levels in Lake Ontario already 55 centimetres above average for this time of year, forecasts are calling for similar or worse flooding compared to last year and dozens of residents filled the Wellington and District Community Centre Wednesday night, to get a better idea of how they can plan to deal with those flooding impacts.

County officials and representatives from various groups including the fire department, Quinte Conservation, M-PAC TSSA and more, met with residents to help them get ready for what is expected to come.

Ameliasburgh resident Bev Verge tells Quinte News she’s concerned for not only herself, but her neighbours as well.

She says she was glad to see the various support groups out at the Wednesday meeting, but she’s hoping more will be done on their part moving forward.

Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson chats with residents, during a flood preparation open house at the Wellington and District Community Centre, on February 19, 2020. (Photo: David Foot / Quinte News)

Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson says the County is doing all it can to keep residents informed about the forecast flooding conditions and says along with supports being offered from the municipality, he’s hoping County residents will be able to turn to each other for help when flooding gets bad.

You can click here to visit the The County’s Flood Watch Page.

Ferguson was also part of a Bay of Quinte delegation that met with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to discuss the issues with the International Joint Commission that are leading to sometimes catastrophic flooding in some areas.

He says Freeland was more than responsive to what they had to say.

Ferguson says they also pushed the Deputy Prime Minister to find ways to help local residents, farmers and tourism-based businesses who are impacted, by coming up with some sort of financial assistance adding, “We can’t have people thinking that The County is closed because of flooding.”

Sarah Delicate of United Shorline Ontario gives a presentation, at a flood preparation open house in Prince Edward County, on February 19, 2020. (Photo: David Foot / Quinte News)

Sarah Delicate of United Shoreline Ontario also gave a presentation Wednesday on what changes need to be made by the International Joint Commission, to ease flooding impacts in the future and says shoreline residents need to do their part to get the word out.

Delicate added that it’s great that the Deputy Prime Minister was receptive to what she heard in her meeting with municipal leaders, but changes to Plan 2014 at the IJC level may have to come from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump.

You can listen to the full interview with Sarah Delicate below and again, click here fore more on what’s being done to mitigate flood damage in Prince Edward County.

Quinte Conservation Water Resources Manager Christine McClure speaks with Prince Edward County residents, during a flood preparation open house at the Wellington and District Community Centre, on February 19, 2020. (Photo: David Foot / Quinte News)