Several authorities in­cluding the Town of Gravenhurst, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and Parks Canada Trent-Severn Waterway continue to monitor the situation on a daily basis.

As of Monday, 12 roads continue to be closed to traffic, some of which are no longer flooded but must be checked for stability by public works crews, said the town’s chief administrative officer Cindy Maher. The town rotated road patrols throughout the weekend and will continue to do so this week, she said.

Flooded roads in the Severn Bridge and Kilworthy areas that have been closed include Severn River Road, East Severn River Road, Bagley Road, Joy Road, Renee Drive, Valley Drive, Godfrey Road, Shallow Bay Road, Bowers Lane, Beadale Road, Rockcastle Road and Catherine Bagley Road.

In these areas, several homes are experiencing flooding, as well as other areas around the municipality.

In addition, some problems with water overtopping the road are being encountered in the South Kahshe Lake Road area, she said.

With warmer weather in the forecast and cooler temperatures still being experienced at night, the melting of the snow pack in shaded areas is still a concern as time progresses.

Following a meeting at the Township of Severn office Monday, Gravenhurst Mayor John Klinck said he’s feeling more confident that water conservation authorities are doing all they can to improve the situation.

Klinck said reports from Parks Canada, which manages the Trent-Severn Water­way, indicated the flooding problem began with the January thaw, where even Lake Simcoe rose 20 centimetres.

At that time, the four major dams along the waterway were opened, as well as the vent gates at Lock 42.

“The volume of water combined with January thaw and record snowfall have led to exceptionally high moisture levels,” he said.

On the other side of Sparrow Lake at the Hydro Glen rock cut, a narrow and shallow channel of rock, the water is slowly escaping, Klinck said.

“Since the water has risen abnormally fast, there is only so much that can get out,” he said. “The volume of water on Monday was huge — over 200 cubic metres per second. It looks like the Colorado River.”

Klinck said Lock 42, which passes about 15 cubic metres of water per second, has occasionally been closed temporarily to facilitate other things, but would only be a small contribution to holding back water.

After the rainfall on Saturday and with lakes Simcoe and Couchiching at reasonable levels, the four dams along the Trent-Severn were closed to hold back more water from the south, Klinck said.

“People (in Severn Bridge) were starting to notice the water going down. In 24 hours flows had been reduced 50 to 55 cubic metres,” he said.

Also contributing to rising water levels in Severn Bridge are increased flows along the Black River. Klinck said the flow in the Black River is 80 centimetres higher than last year and is not controlled because there are no dams.

“Any increase we see (in the Severn River) will be as a result of the Black River,” he said. “We should know by Wednesday whether we’ve gone beyond the peak and are on the downward slope.”

The MNR monitors the Black River in Vankoughnet and Washago daily and based on volumes that pass through Vankoughnet, has a good sense what will come through Wasdell Falls to the Severn River.

On Monday at Vankough­net, the Black River flows were recorded at 180 cubic metres per second, compared to the last peak in 1998 when volumes were 218 cubic metres per second.

“I feel reasonably confident that the MNR and Trent-Severn through Parks Canada have been on this and that this has been a full-time job since January, when the sequence of events started,” Klinck said. “It looks promising that the situation will improve with nice weather. Hopefully the melt will come slow.”

Everyone is still being encouraged to stay away from all rivers, lakes and streams as waters continue to be fast flowing. Reports indicate a significant amount of debris is being carried in the water, therefore making it very dangerous.