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3 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,M arch 14,2019 theifp.ca "I really hope they can do something because the spring thaw will bring it (the water) up even fur- ther." A few doors down, wa- ter poured into the base- ment of another home, which neighbours say was temporarily vacated by the owners, who were assisted by the Red Cross with ac- commodations at a nearby hotel. Mayor Rick Bonnette said that public works and the Halton Hills fire de- partment, along with Cred- it Valley Conservation (CVC), have been monitor- ing the situation daily since March 4, with an ex- cavator from R & M Con- struction brought in on March 6 to address the ris- ing waters. "They broke the ice and diverted the water onto the Glen park to get it away from the street and homes," he explained. The town enlisted a drone from the Brampton fire department on March 7 to survey the river and de- termine where the pinch points are, Bonnette said. On the following day, CLC Construction - a com- pany from Napanee that specializes in blasting - was on site at 8 a.m. and strate- gically drilling through the ice to insert dynamite and gradually detonate it along up to 500 metres of the wa- terway that runs through the Glen. The Halton Hills fire de- partment's technical res- cue team was stationed on standby along the river near the flooded park ball diamond as the explosions occurred. "We can hardly remem- ber the last time we had to use dynamite," remarked Bonnette, adding he was told it was the early 1980s. "Mother Nature is at its worst right here. But the water is starting to flow now, and we like what we're seeing." Walking along Confed- eration Street on Tuesday with the Independent, Bon- nette pointed out the water is starting to recede from the ball diamond and back- yards. On the other side of the bridge, benches that were previously sub- merged have become visi- ble again. "Things are going ac- cording to plan," he said, noting the lack of expected precipitation on the week- end combined with the high winds have helped the situation. "It has been a team ef- fort with our experienced staff and the conservation authority." With the previously di- verted water starting to make its way back to the river channel, town chief administrative officer Brent Marshall said the detonated ice will now be- gin to crumble and fall into the current. "If we hadn't broken it up into smaller pieces, then we would've had a blockage," he noted. While Bonnette said some residents have raised concerns and had sugges- tions on what the munici- pality should be doing to address the flooding, he emphasized the town's ap- proach was well thought- out and led by experts. "There's a lot of method- ology to what we're doing," he said. "We're not just standing on a bridge throwing sticks of dyna- mite and hoping it will work." The situation was cause for concern for Glen Wil- liams resident Robin Coul- son, who could see the wa- ter rising across the street, from through her front window. With a tributary creek also running through her backyard, she said she contacted Halton Hills officials last week to discuss her worries about flooding. "I've been very im- pressed with the response of the town and their sense of urgency," she said, not- ing she was visited by Bon- nette, Marshall and public works superintendent Dick Spear shortly after calling town hall. "They've certainly helped quiet my fears." A watershed flood watch was put in place by CVC on March 8, which al- so issued a safety message urging caution around wa- terways as the warmer weather approaches. "Melting snow due to warmer temperatures combined with spring rain- fall and frozen ground con- ditions could contribute to higher water levels and in- creased water speeds in lo- cal watercourses," the statement says. "CVC urg- es people to exercise cau- tion and keep family mem- bers and pets away from the edges of all waterways and off frozen water bod- ies, which are extremely unsafe." The flood watch was cancelled by Tuesday morning and replaced with a water safety statement encouraging people to stay away from all watercours- es and flow-control struc- tures. The town and CVC plan to continue monitoring the waterway through Glen Williams, with the excava- tor remaining on standby, if needed. Real-time monitoring of water levels can be found at www.cvc.ca. NEWS Continued from page 1 ALMOST 40 YEARS SINCE DYNAMITE LAST USED AS ICE BREAKER THE ISSUE: FLOODING IN GLEN WILLIAMS LOCAL IMPACT: RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG RIVER FACING WORST FLOODING THREAT IN DECADES STORY BEHIND THE STORY The Independent pursued the issue and was invited behind the scenes by the Town to capture ice being detonated in the river to relieve the rising waters. 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