Waterway closure may ruin long weekend plans in Ontario

Michelle MackeyVideo Journalist

Long weekend boaters in Ontario, beware. If your plan was to travel the heritage canals and locks along the 386km Trent-Severn Waterway, you’ll be delayed by at least a week.

The navigation season was supposed to begin Friday, May 17th, but that start date was called to a halt this week. On Wednesday, Parks Canada announced that due to high water flows, boating conditions through the Trent-Severn Waterway are unsafe. As a result, boaters will not be able to navigate the system connecting Lake Ontario to Lake Huron until Friday, May 24th.

This delay will ensure boater safety and help mitigate shoreline erosion and property damage, while Parks Canada staff continue to make adjustments to water flows to restore safe conditions for the navigation season.

“...the Trent-Severn Waterway will remain closed to all boat traffic and all forms of water-based activities are discouraged,” Parks Canada said in a statement.

For those who still wish to visit by foot, the canal’s lock stations will be open for land-based visits starting this Friday, May 17th and The Murray Canal will open as scheduled the same day.

Above-average snowpack this winter and heavy rain this spring have triggered the high water levels across southern Ontario.

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