Debris has been cleared from a stuck Stratford dam, which will allow water levels in Lake Victoria to slowly return to normal.
The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) says the sluice gate at the R Thomas Orr Dam is now closed, after being stuck open for nearly a week.
The UTRCA says sticks, branches and other debris were caught under the gate during the storm on July 24, after it automatically opened to release water and prevent flooding upstream. Water levels needed to drop before crews were able to remove the blockage.
"We had crews on-site (Thursday) morning," said Communications and Marketing Specialist Emily Chandler. "They had some chainsaws on poles, trying to get the debris shifted. Between that and opening the dam a little bit and closing it and going back and forth, the debris cleared, so we've been able to successfully close the dam."
The water level in Lake Victoria dropped almost two metres, but since the dam was closed, it is slowly building back up, adding 10 to 20 mm over a few hours.
However, Chandler says some heavy precipitation will be needed to return the water level to normal.
"There's runoff that happens, agricultural runoff that feeds into Lake Victoria, but that's not significant," she said. "We really need some steady rain to build it back up."
Chandler noted there was little impact on wildlife over the past few days, as many species were able to relocate on their own.
"Because it was that gradual draw down, we saw that animals that could move, moved to where there was water," she said. "What we were able to do was have people on the ground putting mussels back into the water because some of them were getting stranded... so they will survive."
In a statement, the UTRCA said it understands having the lake down even briefly in the summer causes significant problems for businesses, events, and activities, and appreciated the patience of residents.
Chandler says debris is typically an issue in the spring, and this was just a unique situation.
"The dam operated as it should, it opened automatically to prevent flooding from upstream. It's really unfortunate that the debris got stuck underneath and prevented the gate from closing, but now that it's been removed, we're optimistic that things will improve from here," she said.