Downtown Chatham bridge to close again overnight to remove flood debris
The Fifth Street Bridge in downtown Chatham will be closed overnight for a second time this week as municipal crews remove flood debris from the Thames River.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent said Monday that it will be closing the Fifth Street Bridge at King Street starting at 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.
A crane was brought in Sunday night to assist in removing large trees and root balls that accumulated under the bridge due to the high water levels.
“Never underestimate a river. There’s a lot of power in the water,” says Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA) chief administrative officer Mark Peacock.
A sea-doo, a boat with a barbecue, and a dock are among the debris lodged in place.
“It is something we may have to become more familiar with as climate change affects the way our watershed drains it’s water.” says Peacock.
The LTCVA says this type of event doesn’t typically happen at this time of year, saying it’s normally reserved for the end of winter or beginning of spring.
Fifth Street Bridge will be closed overnight as municipal crews remove flood debris from the Thames River in Chatham, Ont. on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)
Peacock says the high water levels are the result of five plus inches of rain that fell in the London region last week. He notes it typically takes three-five days for that water to travel downstream to Chatham.
“This river starts in places like St. Mary’s and Stratford and Woodstock. All that water is coming down, and then it comes to the forks of the Thames in London and then has to come all that distance,” Peacock says.
He says planning for rare events like this is now necessary.
“As we work on our strategy around flooding on the Thames River we have to take more and more into consideration as climate change changes the fundamentals of our understanding,” Peacock says.
There’s concern more debris could collect at the Third Street Bridge in Chatham, which is currently being replaced and out of commission.
Peacock tells CTV News that water levels peaked in Chatham Monday morning and that basement flooding wasn’t expected along King Street or further downstream.
He says water levels on the Thames River are expected to remain high for the next few days,
“We think we’ve got through the worst of it and we think we’re going to get through it well.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
Ontario coroner to investigate death of man who suffered cardiac arrest while waiting in ER
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Federal government bans watercraft from Manitoba lake popular with tourists
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.