WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Essex Region Conservation Authority has extended a flood watch through the month of August.
ERCA says it’s due to the current high static (calm) water levels in Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, and Lake Erie.
The watch is in effect until Sept. 1 for all shoreline areas in Windsor-Essex County as well as Pelee Island and islands within the western basin of Lake Erie.
Water levels for Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie remain near the all-time record highs set in 2019. Peak monthly average levels in 2019 for Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie were 176.04 metres and 175.14 metres, according to the International Great Lakes Datum 1985.
By comparison, to start the month of August, water levels are within centimetres of those records. Water levels for Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie are roughly 86 cm and 73 cm, above the Long Term Average for the month of August.
Predictions indicate that water levels are expected to decrease slightly over the course of the coming month.
ERCA says there continues to be an elevated risk of flooding and accelerated nearshore erosion as a result of these high water level conditions.
