Could the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) have done more to draw down water levels this year in order to prevent the recent flooding?
That would be a no, according to MNRF Minister John Yakabuski.
In an exclusive interview, the Minister sasy that no water management plan could deal with what occurred this year, because, in his words, “we simply don’t have the capacity or the ability to deal with that amount of water.”
In this first of two posts, we look at two key questions some residents and Muskoka Lakes Mayor Phil Harding are asking about this year’s MNRF actions.
Mayor Harding has told this station that the MNRF took the water down more last year in Lake Muskoka when there was way less snowpack than there was this year. Minister Yakabuski was asked if this was true. Here is his answer: (1st portion of above audio)
The Minister has said the South Dam was open wide in February, but Mayor Harding has pointed out that the South Dam is only half the potential water flow exiting Lake Muskoka – Harding says the North Dam can also accommodate roughly 200 cubic metres per second. We asked Minister Yakabuski why the North Dam wasn’t opened up at the same time as the South. Here is his reply. (2nd portion of above audio)
This afternoon the Mayor announced that Premier Doug Ford has agreed to meet with him in Muskoka in Friday to discuss the Muskoka River Water Management Plan (MRWMP). The second half of our interview with Minister Yakabuski will be posted tomorrow.
