Bill Bartley said the City of Thunder Bay dodged a bullet.
Bartley, the head of the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, on Tuesday said much less rain fell overnight Monday than the 70 millimetres originally forecast.
The four to 13 millimetres that came down was on top of 60 to 70 millimetres of rain that saturated the city over the weekend.
“The flows are still moving rather rapidly and they are still high, but they are starting to recede,”said Bartley, lifting the flood warning order with sunny skies in the forecast.
“The Neebing River is two metres lower than it was at this time last year. We had what they call a five- to 10-year return this year, versus the 100-year return last year.”
Darrell Matson, the city’s manager of infrastructure and operations, said while some residents have experienced localized flooding in their basements, the municipal infrastructure held up, unlike last May when heavy rains led to sewage back-ups after the sewage treatment facility failed.
“The water pollution control plant performed very well. There were no operational issues,”Matson said.
“We did experience a couple of minor power failures. The plant was recommissioned and it certainly performed to expectations.”
Flows have since receded, he added, noting the storm and sanitary sewer system worked well.
Some city roads didn’t fare quite as well, a number of them closed by washouts.
Chippewa Park was also closed indefinitely because of flooding on Fort William First Nation.
“It will remain closed until further notice,” said Matson, adding they had to evacuate three people, a camper, a worker and a security guard, from the park.
“Just essential staff will be allowed in today in order to accommodate the daily operations.”
Mayor Keith Hobbs, who met Tuesday with the city’s Emergency Operations Control group to forge a plan of attack, said safety is still paramount and despite the lifting of the flood warning, residents should still take precaution.
“The waters are high. They’re fast and we’re urging parents to watch their children and make sure everyone is safe. So that was our No. 1 priority,”Hobbs said.
“I think we came out of this very well. Each emergency we have, we learn from it.And I think it was a great weekend. Everyone did a great job from the city’s perspective.”
Hobbs added he plans to ask council to extend the application period for the city’s residential drainage assistance program, which is set to expire on May 31.
