Staff and council in Quinte West are counting their lucky stars that flooding damage was limited Saturday in Glen Miller.
On Monday evening, council was given an update on the step-by-step situation from Saturday, and what the next steps are
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A car is eventually swept into the Trent River due to flooding along Trenton-Frankford Road (Photo: submitted to Quinte News)
Early Saturday morning a power outage caused a malfunction at the Innergex dam, where all five sluice gates were shut. In minutes that forced a large amount of fast moving water through the Sonoco Paper Mill site, and the residential property 824 Trenton Frankford Road.
The home and the mill were evacuated. City staff say it was fortunate that only about a dozen staff were on site at the mill, as typically there are more than 120 working during the week.
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Water throughout the Sonoco Paper Mill property
At the height of the flooding there were between four inches and three feet of water at Trenton Frankford Road and Bernard Long Road.
Director of Public Works Chris Angelo says water was spilling over the concrete barrier. Angelo says the decisions made years ago to have a concrete barrier, ensured the flooding was not worse.
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Angelo says one of the other concerns they had was the collapse of the roadway near the intake zone for the Trenton Municipal Drinking Water System.
He says thankfully there was no contamination of the area.
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The look at the brown water is near the intake for the Trenton Municipal Drinking Water System. You can see the white car adjacent to the line of trees in the water
Once the dam got power back and Parks Canada slowed the flow of water up river, flooding began to slow. A major portion of the road was wiped out. Large portions of pavement also fell onto a gas line which runs along the road. Mayor Jim Harrison says thankfully it was not damaged.
Concrete on the yellow gas line along Trenton Frankford Road
On Monday staff, along with Lower Trent Conservation and their geo-technical firm began assessing the damage and Tuesday officials are meeting with Parks Canada.
Drawings, permits, a new concrete box culvert, and bank stabilization are all being discussed in order to get the road opened as quickly as possible. Angelo says it is going to take 3-4 weeks minimum to get the road open, but could be longer.
The Sonoco Paper Mill is still able to use the northern portion of the roadway to continue their operations.
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No full cost of damage is known at this time. Mayor Harrison says the dam operator Innergex has been in contact with the municipality, Sonoco and others. Paying for the damage is being discussed.
Trenton Frankford Road is closed in the area and detours are set up.
Quinte News will continue following the story and update you as more information becomes available.
