Flood Details - 2020-04-03 - 2020-05-15

River Watch 2020 began on March 9th. By the end of February, the snow depth was sitting at slightly above normal by about 20 percent. Many New Brunswickers were waiting to see if this year’s freshet would reach the historic levels of the past two years that flooded homes and damaged property across the province. New Brunswick was already in the midst of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and everyone was hoping for a relatively uneventful spring melt. On March 17th, River Watch volunteers reported most of the ice on the Tobique River was intact from the head pond north to Burntland Brook. In the region of the Arthurette Bridge, there were some breaks where water was visible between sections of ice. There was open water at Riley Brook, where flooding had occurred in previous years, and the ice jam that had occurred just south of Plaster Rock in December was still in place, but water was no longer backed up onto the nearby fields. During a COVID-19 update on April 3rd, Premier Blaine Higgs said the province was beginning to see some localized flooding in low-lying areas, however water levels along the river at Fredericton, Maugerville, Jemseg and Sheffield were still well below flood level. Perth-Andover installed a live bridge camera in early April that proved to be popular among village residents. During previous spring melts, the village received many calls from people wanting to know what the ice situation at the bridge was. The new camera allowed residents to check in while maintaining social distancing due to COVID-19 restrictions. A River Watch alert was issued on the 9th, advising residents living and working along the Saint John River to remain vigilant. Environment and Climate Change Canada was forecasting between 15-25 centimeters of snow on the 10th and rain the following week. Two ice jams were identified, one near Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska on the Saint John River and one at the mouth of the Tobique River. Projections for the week of April 12th showed Saint-Hilaire, Fredericton and Gagetown were expected to reach flood stage, prompting River Watch to issue an alert for all three. On April 15th, water levels on the Saint John River in Gagetown exceeded flood stage. River levels in Saint Hilaire and Jemseg were expected to slightly exceed flood stage on the 16th and 17th and then slowly recede. By April 18th, Jemseg and Gagetown were the only two points along the Saint John River that reached flood stage. The threat of flooding caused by ice jams along the Saint John River had subsided by this time, as most of the ice on the river and its tributaries had washed away. Mild temperatures at the end of the month along with periods of rain prompted alerts for Fredericton and Gagetown on April 29th. Water levels continued to decrease across the province in May, and River Watch officially ended on May 15th.

Environment Canada precipitation totals for April 13th: Saint John: 28.2 mm Fredericton: 25.0 mm Sussex: 24.6 mm Edmundston: 22.0 mm Woodstock: 20.0 mm High water level (flood stage): Jemseg: 4.39 m (4.3 m)

An ice jam on the Tobique River just south of Plaster Rock caused water to spill over Route 390 on April 14th. A jam had been in place on that section of the river since December and with rain and milder temperatures, the ice started to move. The rising water pushed chunks of ice across the road and surged into a low-lying gully at the back of some properties. A portion of guardrail was damaged and there were tree limbs and debris strewn across the road that had to be removed. One property was surrounded by ice and water and had some damage to the main floor. The highway was also closed at Wapske due to water spilling onto the road.