Eyes will be soon be on the Saugeen River flowing through Durham around the clock to monitor a concerning ice jam.
“We do anticipate moving to 24-hour monitoring of the river, at least from the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA) point of things. As long as it takes, as long as this condition persists, which is very cold air, and a river that’s generating frazzle ice,” said SVCA General Manager Erik Downing.
Frazzle ice is a problem in Durham. In 1997, 200 people were forced from their homes and over $1 million in damage was done after a frazzle ice jam backed up the Saugeen River into people’s backyards and basements.
“It’s just not the typical sheet ice that most people are aware, where you have a sheet of ice, you know, in the spring melt, that’ll break up and then get stuck somewhere. This is actually, sort of slushy, …