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
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.