There are\u00a0massive sandbags lining the shore, the ground is cold and soaked, and there’s already five centimetres of water in his crawl space, but Mike French doesn’t\u00a0seemed worried that Ward’s Island could flood all over again.<\/p>\n
“I would say we’re cautious, we’re ready this time,” said French, who has lived on the island for about a decade.<\/p>\n
“We’re watching now where vulnerable points are and we’ve started sandbagging.”<\/p>\n
French is part of an emergency preparedness committee that monitors water levels\u00a0and updates residents on flood mitigation efforts.<\/p>\n
But French says\u00a0the early response is only part of what’s going to save people’s homes. The other factor\u00a0is the permanent changes that have been made to the island’s infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Holes were dug to install nine concrete cisterns. They’re covered by\u00a0grates and collect any excess surface water.<\/p>\n
“We still might get some pooling in low points, but we now have these pumps where they can just drop in and shoot the water quickly out into the lake,” said French.<\/p>\n
Water levels are sitting about 20 centimetres shy of what they were in 2017.\u00a0Still, city spokesperson Brad Ross says it’s unlikely they’ll have to close the island if water levels surpass that.<\/p>\n
“The other thing we did in the two years is rebuild\u00a0the docks for the ferries,” said Ross.<\/p>\n
“Two years ago, the ferries couldn’t go to the island, that’s why we had to close the island. This time around, the ferry docks are able to accept the ferries. So we don’t foresee having to close the island.”<\/p>\n
Another lesson learned is that the city, island residents, and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority are working together to deal with the situation.<\/p>\n
The TRCA helped with a risk assessment on the island right after the flooding and is now providing assistance with placing larger-size sandbags\u00a0throughout the island.<\/p>\n
Rehana Rajabali, senior manager for TRCA’s flood risk management division, says they’re monitoring the lake.<\/p>\n
“The typical time for Lake Ontario levels to peak is late May or early June. Now, whether or not they get to those 2017 peaks or not\u00a0really depends on the precipitation in the coming days. Not just in our watershed,\u00a0but what’s also happening in the Ottawa River basin,” said Rajabali.<\/p>\n
As for French, he says he’s ready for the worst of it. Last time, he lost many\u00a0family photos when his crawl space flooded. This time, he’s already removed the boxes.<\/p>\n