Water levels hit flood stage in communities along St. John River

CTV Atlantic: Fredericton on flood watch New Brunswick EMO has placed many communities along the St. John River on a flood watch. CTV's Nick Moore reports.

Plenty of water and ice is on the move in New Brunswick this long weekend.

The New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization says water levels have surpassed flood stage in some parts of the province.

Spokesperson Robert Duguay says residents in Perth-Andover, N.B., were told Thursday to be on alert, with an ice jam on the move. Eventually, the jam passed by the village without incident. There had been concern about the jam getting stuck in the heart of the village and possibly holding back water.

“We learned in the past that things can change so quickly,” Duguay says. “There's always a risk there, so we really relieved last night to see all the ice go through and continue its way down.”

The jam moved further down river to the Beechwood Dam, where some water is being held back.

“Six or seven feet of water, but it's no threat for now and doesn't represent an issue, so we feel at this point things should be fine at that level,” says Duguay.

EMO is monitoring an ice jam on the Middle River, in the Bathurst area. A local road has flooded and the ice jam is threatening a few homes in the area.

The St. John River peaked just above flood stage in Fredericton Thursday night. Some trails and parks have become one with the river.

Water levels are expected to remain high throughout the long weekend.

“I wasn't expecting it to be at this level already even though even though we had a lot of snow and nice days, it's still chilly at night,” says one Fredericton resident.

The chilly weather at night is helpful to slow down the melt. About 25 millimetres of rain is expected between Sunday and Monday.

EMO says water levels should go up again due to the rain, but then begin to fall later next week.

“And maybe later an increase, with the melt of snow from the north,” says Duguay.

With everything moving down river, areas along the St. John River – including Grand Lake, Oromocto and Lakeville – should be expecting water levels to go up and approach the flood stage.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.