THUNDER BAY — Wednesday's intense downpour caused unexpected, but short-lived, flooding at Chippewa Park.
According to Tom Forsyth, supervisor of parks and operations for the south side of the city, the issue was likely caused when the record-breaking rainfall hit two culverts that are currently scheduled for replacement, temporarily affecting fields 3 and 4.
“With the heavy downpour at that end of the park, those two culverts — which are either crushed or plugged — couldn’t handle the overflow,” Forsyth explained. “It looked pretty impressive, but most of it has already drained out into the lake and we’re back to normal.”
Despite the dramatic water accumulation, park operations continued without disruption. “None of our actual scheduled activities were impacted,” said Forsyth. “Our recreation program play days went ahead as planned, and all rides and campground facilities remained fully operational.”
Forsyth noted that the city plans to replace the affected culverts in the coming week and the replacements were already scheduled prior to the storm, he added "timing-wise, we missed it by a few days.”
In short the storm simply hit before the work to replace the culverts began.
Visitors to Chippewa Park can expect regular operations to continue uninterrupted.
