Ontario cottage country residents demand answers after another spring flood

Frustrated residents launch a petition urging watershed reforms as recurring floods hit Ontario’s cottage country. Heather Wright reports.

MUSKOKA, Ont. – For the past two weeks, Martin Ford has watched flood water seep into his restaurant in Bala, Ont.

While water levels in Muskoka have peaked, there’s still roughly a foot of water in his restaurant, which has left refrigerators, ovens and other electrical equipment partially submerged. He says he won’t know how much damage has been caused until the water recedes and the building dries out.

“I’ve experienced high water, but I have not experienced this,” he said.

Flooding in Ontario’s cottage country began roughly two weeks ago. Heavy rain, coupled with the spring thaw, caused water levels to quickly rise. There is growing frustration amongst residents in Muskoka, who say not enough is being done to mitigate against these types of flood events, which are happening more frequently.

“All you have to do is turn around and take a look.” Ford said, pointing to his flooded restaurant. “The plan is not working.”

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources regulates water levels in Muskoka, managing flow with a number of factors at play. These include power generation, marine habitat, recreational objectives and flood risk. The Muskoka River Water Management Plan (MRWMP) is meant to balance what can be competing interests, but flood events expose tensions, especially when it comes to the Bala Falls Hydro Generating Station, a contentious project that faced community opposition at every stage of its development and construction.

Many residents, including Ford, say flood mitigation is a secondary consideration to hydro generation; others believe the plant is making the flooding worse.

“I’m not against green energy, but this is reckless and irresponsible,” said Ford.

After catastrophic flooding in 2019, an independent study emphasized that dams in central Ontario, including those in the Muskoka watershed, are not flood control structures. The report said the dams have “a limited capacity to drawdown water to affect flooding, and during periods of large volume rapid runoff, the available drawdown capacity is insufficient to reduce peak water levels.”

The report did make 19 recommendations on watershed management and flood mitigation, including identifying “choke points” within the system. While a number of technical studies have been completed, it’s not clear how many tangible changes have been made.

Mike Harris Jr., Ontario’s minister of natural resources, declined a request for an interview to discuss the MRWMP and whether flood mitigation in Muskoka is prioritized. In an emailed statement, a ministry spokesperson did not answer specific questions, but said “our government will do everything it can to protect our communities, keep people safe, repair damage, and help get life back to normal.”

Residents say the lack of transparency in terms of what has been done and how decisions are being made is leading to frustration.

“Something needs to change,” said Kelly Fallis, a real estate agent who lives in Muskoka and tracks water levels every spring. “I don’t know what’s going to fix the problem. I know there have been a ton of studies done … but what are the steps to change this from happening?”

Since 2013, there have been at least five flood events in the region, including what was called a “once-in-a-century flood” in 2013, and the flood in 2019 that is widely considered the worst in the region’s history.

“Unfortunately there has been a lot of practice here in terms of how to handle flooding,” says district chair Jeff Lehman, who notes that the local response to spring floods has improved. “There are some things that have been put in place that aren’t making it great, but they are making it better.”

Lehman says technology deployed this year has meant that no roads were closed in the region due to flooding and only four homes had to be evacuated. Still, he would like to see more effort put toward flood prevention rather than response.

“I have heard a lot of concern from people over the past couple of weeks about how water is managed,” he said. “I do think those plans need to be updated for the current reality.”

Ford has started a petition calling on the Ministry of Natural Resources to re-evaluate its water management plan; there is another petition being circulated calling for an emergency public meeting to discuss the flooding and watershed management.

“It needs to be changed,” Ford said.

For now, residents have to wait for the water to recede to know the extent of the damage to their property. Many docks have detached from their cribbing and have been seen floating downstream. There is also a considerable amount of debris and garbage in the lakes.

“We’re not out of the woods at all,” said Fallis. “The water going up is one thing but water going down is a whole other. You have no idea what’s going on under there.”