Otonabee Conservation Issues Flood Watch Amid Snowfalls Forecast for Peterborough and Surrounding Areas

A flood watch update was issued by Otonabee Conservation for the Trent-Severn Waterway (Kawartha Lakes, Otonabee River, Rice Lake, Trent River to Hastings) and local watercourses on Tuesday, warning communities that signifiant precipitation could lead to flooding.

File Photo.

The Flood watch, issued to Municipalities of Selwyn, Douro-Dummer, Asphodel-Norwood, Otonabee-South Monaghan, Cavan Monaghan, City of Kawartha Lakes, City of Peterborough and Trent Hills and ORCA’s other partners in flood emergency management, states that precipitation accumulation could lead to flooding.

Falling snow and wind chill are ingredients that contribute to cooling of river/stream/creek water, promoting and accelerating the generation of frazil ice. Multiple days of frazil ice generation increases the possibility of frazil ice accumulation causing channel constriction and the back-up of water behind the accumulation/constriction, leading to flooding of adjacent low-lying areas.

Starting Tuesday night and continuing for the next 7 to 10 days, the forecast is for wind chills that will drop overnight lows well into the double-digits.

Beginning Wednesday afternoon and continuing through Thursday morning, Otonabee Conservation says a strong low-pressure system will bring high winds, cold air temperatures and significant snowfall. They are alerting municipalities, residents and businesses that floods are possible with those snowfalls expected in the next couple days, and advising those in low-lying, flood-prone areas to keep an eye out for frazil ice generation, accumulation and rising water levels and to prepare for potential flooding.

Wednesday and Thursday’s total snow accumulations are expected to be around 20 centimeters across the watershed. This winter storm is expected to be followed by a series of minor weather disturbances bringing more snow, albeit low accumulations and continued cold air temperatures into the early days of February.

Thursday and Friday’s temperature low is expected to be - 19 degrees while feeling closer to - 22 degrees.

Water levels can be monitored online at:

1. Trent-Severn Waterway’s Water Management InfoNet

2. Water Survey of Canada Real-Time Hydrometric Data 

3. Otonabee Region Conservation Authority website

This flood watch message will expire Feb. 2 unless updated earlier.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Kirkfield Lift Lock To Close For The Season This Friday

The Kirkfield Lift Lock will close for the season this Friday according to Parks Canada.

File photo.

On Sept. 2 the Kirkfield Lift Lock suffered a mechanical failure resulting in the site’s closure. Parks Canada team members have been onsite working to transit vessels to their home ports that cannot be trailered.

If your vessel cannot be trailered and you need to return to your home port, contact Parks Canada no later than Thursday at trentsevern@pc.gc.ca. Include your full name, phone number, length and beam of your vessel, your current location, your home port and any additional special needs that our lock team needs to be aware of, such as accessibility issues. The final pre-arranged lockage for the season at the Kirkfield Lift Lock will take place on Friday.

Vessels going up will experience a lockage time of approximately six hours, while down-bound vessels will experience a lockage time of approximately 30 minutes.

Boaters (and pets) will be asked to disembark their vessels while the transfer is underway.

Do not arrive at the Lift Lock until the agreed upon date and time, as there are no amenities within walking distance of the site (restaurants, accommodations, etc.). Access to washroom facilities and shelter in the case of inclement weather will be made available.

The parkland around the Lift Lock will remain closed to the public.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

City Counsellors Unanimously Votes to Turn On Centennial Fountain

The Centennial Fountain in Little Lake will come back on for this year starting on May 26 after city counsellors voted in a virtual meeting on Monday.

File Photo.

Coun. Keith Riel originally suggested turning the fountain on and it was unanimously voted in favour of the proposition.

The fountain was turned off back in April 2020 during the pandemic to save costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Coun. Henry Clarke originally proposed the fountain’s closure last but agreed to have it on “to celebrate and be happy about.“

"It signals hope we're rounding the corner on this pandemic," said Coun. Stephen Wright.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Developer Paul Bennett On His Vision For Taking Back The Waterfront (Including A 100 Unit Condo Building He's Proposing)

As part of his vision to “take the waterfront back and make it part of the public realm”, Peterborough developer Paul Bennett has a dream to build a 100-unit high-end condo development for Crescent Street on Little Lake near the Art Gallery of Peterborough. He’ll soon be submitting his plans (the building is designed by Lett Architects) to the city for approval.

In this guest post below for PTBOCanada, Bennett—President of Ashburnham Realty, one of the Co-Founders of VentureNorth and interim chairman of the DBIA—writes about his vision for the waterfront and this proposed waterfront property (for years, he’s been buying up enough properties along there to make this happen)…

Lett Architect rendering of condo unit proposed for Little Lake

This project has been many years in the making, and I think it will be a real catalyst to help our City develop in a positive way. We have a very large list of people who are interested in living close to the core in high quality suites/residences. 

This is very exciting for us as we strongly believe in a more urbanized Peterborough that promotes a healthy, active and fun lifestyle. Peterborough is a very special community that we love, and we are looking forward to celebrating this idea of community more with this project and another one we have coming up next year in East City.     

Our waterfront is truly one of Peterborough’s greatest features and up until now it has lacked the attention it deserves. The vision for this project started 12 years ago and aims to take the waterfront back and make it a community asset by eliminating all traffic and creating trails, landscaped areas, art installations and gathering nodes along the Trans Canada trail.  

Larger Cities like Chicago showed proactive and smart planning by keeping the waterfront public and their City has greatly benefited from this vision. We have that same opportunity here—especially once the City is able to complete the full trail loop over into East City.

This coupled with the potential of a Del Crary park rejuvenation and a new world class Art Gallery makes the Little Lake area an amazing location for increased residential density. Our goal is to make Peterborough the best place in Canada to live and we feel this project will help us take a step in this direction.   

The Crescent St building itself will be approximately 100 suites (depending on the final mix of suites and whether clients decide to combine suites). They will be both private residences and luxury rental suites, and there will be a mix of many styles of suites (townhomes, lofts, penthouses, etc.).  

The building will have amenities that will make it Peterborough’s first true luxury community that will cater to those in our community that are looking for high end suites, beautiful views, walkable central location and building services that have yet to be offered in Peterborough. Our City is in drastic need of housing across all spectrums. This building looks to satisfy one of the markets that we see a large demand for.

We do, however, need to find solutions to the apartment affordability issue. We are working with a local housing provider to create a cool affordable project close to the core. We hope to announce this project and timing before Christmas. 

We are all members of this community and we need to find ways to help this City grow in a positive way that includes finding options across the whole housing spectrum. We hope that our upcoming projects will help address many of the areas of the demand.  

Below is a quote from Michael Gallant, who designed the property for us. I think it does a great job of capturing the initial vision I went to Lett Architects with years ago…

"Peterborough is changing. The Ashburnham Crescent street development is responding to the growing desire for housing options that cater to a more urban lifestyle in a central location. The design is inspired by its proximity to Little Lake, with plans to reclaim a section of Crescent street to provide new public park space, trail connections, and the potential to naturalize the shoreline. Many of the units are designed to encourage a relationship with its surroundings, embracing what’s best about Peterborough: its community, its waterfront, and its central area.”

—guest post by Paul Bennett for PTBOCanada

Learn more about Bennett’s vision for Peterborough, the downtown and smart, sustainable growth in this interview he conducted on our show PTBOCanada earlier this year…

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here. Watch our PTBOCanada Love video here.