By Emily Stonehouse
“It feels good not to be in a state of emergency,” opened Mayor Bob Carter during his Mayor’s report on May 8 during Minden’s meeting of council.
Carter went on to explain that the state of emergency – initially put in place following the ice storm at the end of March – was prolonged due to unpredictable water levels in the Gull River.
“The reason for the prolongation of the state of emergency was really because of the dire and gloomy weather reports we were getting because of Environment Canada and Parks Canada every time we met,” he said.
After over 30 days of monitoring, Carter called off the state of emergency last week. “We finally got news that there was a little bit of buffer available to us in the lakes above Minden,” he said, noting that the water levels were in a place they could be more easily maintained as spring weather rolled in.
While the state of emergency has come to an end, Carter was adamant that it’s not smooth sailing just yet. “It does not mean we are totally out of the woods,” he said. “There is a lot of water in the system. The Gull River is up and down, seemingly every day, and that is planned.”
The spring freshet continues to melt into the waterways, and Carter suggested that there may be another few weeks of high water ahead, and the water is moving fast. “There is still some danger out there,” he said.
Carter shared that the township was successful in applying and receiving a grant from Hydro Ontario during the emergency status. He noted that the bulk of provincial grants designed for emergency situations have a designated purpose of purchasing consumable for those impacted. But the Hydro grant allowed the township to purchase useable assets, such as radios and chainsaws, and that made a difference in the community outcome. “Let’s hope we can last a long time before the next emergency,” he said.
Minden Council has compiled a list of thank yous to give out to individuals and organizations who directly support the emergency efforts. Councillor Tammy McKelvey noted that Parks Canada played a big part in water maintenance over the past few weeks. “The people controlling the water really did do a good job,” she said. “I think they did a tremendous effort with that.”
Other thank yous included but were not limited to Premier Doug Ford, local emergency services, Hydro One, the Red Cross, Minden Hills staff, and local food banks.
“We survived,” said Carter. “I think that everyone worked together and that really made an incredible difference.”
