As the boating season begins to pick up, LOWDSA is reminding you to be cautious of debris in the surrounding lakes.
The recent flooding has caused large amounts of debris to enter from the shores, everything from trees to lawn furniture. Boaters are asked to remove any debris from the water when they find it.
Patrick Paulo, Executive Director of the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association (LOWDSA), said “Definitely pick it up, what goes into our lakes [can] add containments and we want to make sure that we have a healthy lake for future generations.
The Kenora OPP also shared a similar message, “If you’re going out on your boat or at your camp, there is a lot of debris. We’ve seen old boats that someone obviously pulled up on shore years ago and they’ve floated away and they are just a windshield sticking out,” said OPP Provincial Constable, Jason Canfield.
“We had trees out in the middle of the lake, as well as firewood and stuff that is floating out there, so definitely lots of debris including docks,” added Canfield.
The region is expected to get more rain this weekend, possibly adding to the current water levels. According to Environment Canada, we could see approximately 15 to 20 mm of rain through Sunday.
The level of Lake of the Woods is now above the 2014 peak, according to the Lake of the Woods Control Board (LWCB). The current level of Lake of the Woods is 323.79 m (1062.3 ft), which is over the 95th percentile level for this time of year.
Get up-to-date weather details on the REMR Roofing Storm Tracker at KenoraOnline or DrydenNow.