Drought conditions upgraded to moderate by CRCA, MVCA

Jeff Green | Jul 13, 2016

Some fire bans lifted in townships

The Cataraqui Region (CRCA) and Mississippi Valley (MVCA) Conservation Authorities both upgraded their drought warnings from “minimal” to “moderate” early this week, leaving only one more level to reach, a “severe” warning.

In a release, the CRCA said “Inland lake levels, which had been holding steady through the early part of the drought, have started to decline below target levels. With the continued lack of precipitation, and warm sunny weather, evaporation will be high, and lake levels will continue to fall. Care should be taken with navigation, as lower water levels will expose boaters to hazards that are normally well below the water surface, boat hulls and boat props.”

For their part, the MVCA said on June 30 that, “Flows in the main branch of the river remain at approximately 25% of normal, while flows in the smaller tributaries continue to be roughly 10% of normal for this time of year. All of the upper lakes in the watershed have begun to drop over the last week.”

Quinte Region issued a release on July 6, reiterated a stage 1 or “minimal” low water advisory, but also said, “We are predicting that we will soon be in a Level 2 Low Water Condition and will be meeting with our Low Water Response Team to go over current conditions and weather forecasts.”

Rideau Valley Conservation Authority has not upgraded the drought status, which was issued on June 6, but a further announcement is expected in the coming days.

Fire bans all over the map

There have changes to the fire ban status throughout the region over the past two weeks. As of Tuesday, in the townships of Central, North and South Frontenac, and Addington Highlands, burning is permitted as normal (see the townships' web sites for updates). Throughout the County of Lanark there is a partial burn ban in place, and small cooking fires are permitted. There is a total fire ban in Kingston.

This article will be updated as further information becomes available.