Excavators digging ice from river to avoid Durham flooding

Excavators and bulldozers are being used to avoid flooding in the community of Durham Friday.

Four excavators could be seen digging frazzle ice out of the Saugeen River behind Durham’s Community Centre around the lunch hour. Officials with the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority say as many as six excavators worked through the night on Jan. 9 to try and prevent an ice jam and subsequent flooding in Durham.

In 1997, more than 200 people had to be evacuated after a frazzle ice jam backed water from the Saugeen River up into people’s backyards and basements.

Frazzle ice is caused when turbulent winter water meets snow accumulation and very cold temperatures. The subsequent frazzle ice creates a slushy, gummy snow-ice mix that can cause an ice jam.

Frazzle ice flows down the Saugeen River in Durham on Jan. 10, 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

While the use of excavators is a last-ditch effort to keep the channel moving through Durham, it is hoped that some short-term winter weather relief is on the way.

“A number of monitoring thresholds of interest to Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA) staff and West Grey response crews remained at concerning levels through the night. However, the river remains within its channel, and a tributary that can get blocked by river ice continues to flow within its banks. Some relief from the extreme cold in the immediate weather forecast is expected to help the situation,” said Ashley Richards, Communications Co-ordinator with the SVCA.

The Flood Watch remains in effect for Durham. SVCA staff are taking shifts monitoring Durham’s frazzle ice situation 24 hours a day.

Excavators dig out frazzle ice from the Saugeen River in Durham, seen on Jan. 10, 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)