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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER |Thursday, May 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 | 22 Steer clear ofw aterw ays: Oakville's TO W ARFadvises Infrastructure is at its `limit' to handle water: Bee continued from p.1 the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) and Halton police, during boating season (AprilOctober), TOWARF is volunteer-based and has a trained crew of more than 75. While there were no injuries or damage from the fallen trees to adjacent docks or boats, the incident "speaks to a much larger problem" with the higher-than normal water levels, Bee explained. "We've really got some concerns about pub lic safety, in and around the area, with Oakville having two really vibrant harbours and lots of streams, creeks, parks and water features. It' s re ally becoming an issue," said Bee. "A lot of the infrastructure is sort of right at its limit to deal with that water. It has the potential to be really dangerous." Because of the heavy rainfall and ground satu ration, Bee urged people to avoid areas adjacent to any type of waterway "as much as possible" because the infrastructure can't handle any more precipitation. "There are a number of slips and docks that are flooded or below water. Two of the boat ramps, one in Bronte, one in Oakville, (harbours), are already underwater," said Bee. "A lot of the parks are really soaked and all of the streams, creeks and rivers are swollen, run ning a lot faster than they normally do." The embankments and surrounding areas get saturated with water, so even walking on them can "trigger" another incident, Bee said, so the risk is very high at the moment. "There really isn't any indication of when the water levels are going to return to normal, yet. There really isn't anything we can do to make the water go away," said Bee. Water levels are about three feet higher than usual, according to Bee, and the Oakville Har bour pier is particularly hazardous right now since it's only sitting above water by about a foot or foot-and-a-half. "If we get a heavy east wind, a lot of the waves will be coming in over top of the pier like it isn't there at all," said Bee. "It would be tremendously dangerous to be on that pier when the wind and wave conditions are like that." He said parents need to keep a close eye on their children and pets, if they are near any wa terway, but suggests they stay away completely, if possible. The situation has already warranted the Town to use sandbags and put up barrier fencing and caution tape near dangerous or already-flooded areas including Bronte and Oakville harbours. The latter is where TOWARF' s headquarters are located. "Our slip is one that is currently underwater. The Town sandbagged around that area and put up barriers to both Sixteen Mile Creek piers, on both sides, as well as cautionary tape to keep the public out of the areas," said Bee. TOWARF was doing a routine check on its boat Sunday morning, when members noticed a physical change in the embankment that col lapsed. They immediately called the Town, which sent its forestry staff to help remove the trees from the river. Bee estimates the size of the embankment col lapse was about 15 metres wide and up to eight metres high. "It immediately blocked off a good portion of the channel itself from vessel traffic," said Bee. He said a "fair share" of people have been sneaking around some of the protective barri ers in town because they don't recognize it as a danger. "What we saw yesterday (Sunday, May 7) clearly indicates the ground underneath isn't stable. We're fortunate the area that gave way doesn't see any, or very little, foot traffic," said Bee. 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