banks are overflowing...still more snow to melt!

wow, Lori, that's some difference from how it was before!

is there a previous "high water level" to know how high it might still get?

This is as high as I've seen it, Fran. in the three years we've been here. Will have to post a pic of this mornings levels...if it gets any higher our driveway could wash out. It's very worrying because there is still more snow to melt and last night we had a couple of hours of rain. (thank goodness it was rain and not snow! ;-))

oh, that's bad, Lori. The prob with rain and snow-melt isn't what it does locally, it's what it's doing further upstrteam which will get to you later, and probably without warning.

I suppose the only safety measure that can be taken is to raise the bank level on this side (leave the other side for it to overlow into, unless someone living on that side has the same idea!) but I shudder to think what that would cost to do properly, and a cheap job would be useless.

keep my fingers x'd for you

Rain and snow melt and the water level is about two feet above what's in this picture. I was too busy digging trenches to let the water clear the culverts, both of which are complete submerged...two maelstroms mark their location now! I'm glad cats don't like water...I worry about Rufus when he's outdoors. He doesn't like the sound of the rushing water and sticks close to the house. the driveway has completely washed out. I'm not happy contemplating what that could mean in terms of cost and labour! boooo hoooo....:-(

heck, Lori, that doesn't sound good at all. let's hope that this is as bad as it'll get - two feet higher than this!! but if there's still snow on the ground - just hope for a slow thaw.

That would be a blessing, Fran. I checked the water levels this morning and it appears that with cooler weather the melt is checked temporarily. But the snow is back! It's mostly freezing rain but we have a centimeter of the ....on the ground. Trees and vehicles are under a glaze. I hope it ends soon and the sun comes out; then I can take pictures of the beauty..not the danger.

amen to that! it's lovely to look at, no fun at all to live with.

Poor Lori :) Hope your weather improves soon.

fingers crossed here too!

Thanks! I have good news. We've had two days of very cold overnight temps and it's stopped the onslaught. The water crested at 4 ft above normal...took out my driveway culvert and almost flooded the road...but now it's down. Phewww! Bad news: my pond is full of silt and sand! More digging! just when you think.....

four foot!!!!! shee, that's incredible! if it did that all along its length, how much water in that?!

you could use the sand from the pond to build a new feature beside it!

We are on the high ground! The folk in the river valley are next in line for the rushing deluge. The Madawaska River system is pretty huge it drains an area of hundreds of sq. miles and as such it moves along very fast...will have to take a picture of the rapids. White water for miles! The river system has been enlarged and dredged out to service an hydro-electric plant in Calabogie. There is a large dam there and they control the water level in the river, opening the gates in winter to let the ice settle and minimize the damage that might be done from too much runoff when the snow melts.
I'm buying a roto-tiller and plan to till some of the sand into the beds with lots of compost added. Lots of hard work ahead.

Shee, and you’re on high ground!

In the UK, DEFRA do a “flood risk map” (it shows other risks, too, reservoir flooding, air and ground pollution, but I only used it for sea/river flood risk)– you put in the postcode and it shows a map of the current risk levels – when I was looking to bid on housing, I always checked the postcode on that map; some of the properties appeared to be in the middle of a lake!

Lol that’s one reason I didn’t want to live close by the sea or a river: on a good day you’re by the water, on a bad day you’re in it.

There were several flood alerts in Shrewsbury town centre, flood defences going up on some bridges; I stayed well away, not wanting to go for a walk that might end in a wade – or a swim!

I’m a tad paranoid about flooding: I can just remember the North Sea flood of 1953; I read up on it later and was rather shocked. And I read a book, London’s Drowning (can’t remember author), which confirmed my decision to only live on higher ground.

I have a couple of documentaries on floods, and they say that flash flooding is the most dangerous – no warning, it might not even be raining where the water hits.

The trouble is that, especially in cities, the rivers are being constrained more and more, so the current increases and so does the force when it does overtop the defences. Most of London is built on what used to be a flood plain, the water had plenty of room to spread. Suppose it’s the same with all cities and towns; the river gets built on, confined, and has nowhere else to go.

That’s what got me about the Thames Flood Barrier. Okay, they stop the water reaching the City (protect the financial houses, never mind the houses people live in!) but the water has to go *somewhere*, so it’ll just back up and be worse downstream, or it’ll find a way round and hit from an unexpected direction.

Good luck with the tilling! Let us know how it goes.