'We certainly didn't need it': Essex County fields saturated amid record rainfall
As the rain continues to fall, Windsor-Essex County is well on its way for a record for the month.
Environment Canada says 24 mm of rain was collected Sunday at Windsor Airport, breaking the previous record of 21 mm set back in 2000.
The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) issued a Flood Watch, which will be in effect until midnight Oct. 26.
“Rainfall for October within Windsor is 52 milimeters,” says ERCA CEO Tim Byrne “We’re at 35 (mm) just in the last 24-hour period.”
All farmers like Brendan Byrne (no relation) can do, is watch and wait.
Flooded fields in Essex County, Ont. on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)
“We’re getting all they’ve (forecasters) called for and more so we certainly didn’t need it,” he says.
Byrne says there is still a lot of soy beans and corn to be harvested, most of which is now standing in water.
Plus, Byrne says a lot of farmers use this time to do maintenance on their fields —work which cannot happen or it will create huge ruts in the soil.
“There’s a lot of winter wheat that would have got planted or got planted, right before this that maybe won’t make it now,” says Byrne.
Flooded fields in Essex County, Ont. on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)
In spite of the record rain, the storm itself has been falling in the best way possible, according to Jim Parker, of Parker Construction.
“If it falls over time, the ditches, the storm sewers things like that can handle it,” says Parker.
He hasn’t received any calls for flooded basements, yet.
As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, City Hall has received just one call for a flooded basement in the City of Windsor.
“People have learned to cope with the situation,” says Parker, including installing a sump pump, back water valve, disconnecting downspouts, improving grading away from their foundations, cleaning out gutters and clearing debris from catch basins.
Flooded fields in Essex County, Ont. on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)
“I would check a sump pump at least once a month,” advises Parker. “When you know there’s rain in the forecast check your sump pump. Make sure your float is freed, make sure it’s actually pumping water.”
The city asks any resident who experiences water in their basement, to call 3-1-1 regardless of the amount or damage, to help with tracking how the underground infrastructure is handling rain events.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.