Government of New Brunswick
Perth-Andover
Edmundston
Woodstock
Hartland
Florenceville
Stickney
Morrell Siding
Beechwood
Saint-Basile
Nashwaak Village
Simonds
Ice jam
Freshet
$1,300,000.00

Affected Areas


General: Ice-jam-related flooding first occurred in the Florencville area on April 6 and occurred at several locations until April 18. Moderate to severe flooding also occurred in the State of Maine at Fort Fairfield and Dickey. Some minor flooding occurred on the Nashwaak River. Upper Saint John River Basin (upstream of Grand Falls): Three ice jams formed between Dickey and Edmundston on April 9. The most upstream and largest of the three destroyed a bridge and forced the evacuation of 60 residents at Dickey, Maine. The most downstream jam near Baker Brook caused minor damage on the American side of the Saint John River, then began moving downstream past Edmundston towards Rivière Verte. On April 10 the middle jam at the mouth of the St. Francois River also began to move downstream toward Rivière Verte, and finally on April 11 the major ice jam by Dickey let go and moved downstream.On April 10, a nine kilometre long ice jam formed at Quisbis, causing a backwater of about 3.5 metres, flooding the Trans Canada Highway at Rivière Verte. Ice from the jams at Bakers Brook and St. Francois River reached the upstream end of the jam at Quisbis by the morning of April 11, and pushed the head of the jam approximately two kilometres downstream to Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska. The ice from the jam near Dickey reached the Quisbis jam late on April 11. On the morning of April 12, the Quisbis ice jam was 13 km long, extending from Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska upstream to Rivière Verte. Some residences were flooded, forcing the evacuation of 25 families from the Saint Basile area, and 11 families from the Rivière Verte area. Downstream of the jam, the ice cover was still intact. Later on April 12, a four kilometre long ice jam formed near the Fraser lagoon at Iroquois, causing some backwater. On April 13, water levels slowly declined at both ice jams. By evening, water levels were down 0.3 metres, 1.0 metre, and 0.7 metres from their peak at Edmundston, Rivière Verte, and Quisbis bridge respectively. On April 14, water levels continued to drop, allowing 13 families to return home at St. Basile, and two families to return home at Rivière Verte. Also, the Trans Canada Highway was re-opened at Rivière Verte. The ice jam near the Fraser lagoon at Iroquois eroded by April 16, leaving the Saint John River open down to the mouth of Rivière Verte. The length of the ice jam at Quispis decreased rapidly during April 16 to the 17th, and on April 18 it was only 2.5 km long. Middle Saint John River Basin: Saint John River, Grand Falls to Beechwood: On April 9, small ice jams were developing around Morrell, and ice cover was disappearing at the confluences of the Tobique and Aroostook rivers, located 11 km and six kilometres downstream of Morrell respectively. On April 10, there were major ice movements in the area which lead to the formation of an ice jam at the upstream end of Perth-Andover, causing increasing water levels on the Tobique, and Aroostook rivers. On April 11, the jam moved intermittently as the downstream ice cover broke up, eventually forming a five kilometre long ice jam lodged two kilometres above the Beechwood Dam. This jam caused no further problems, and eroded to two kilometres in length by April 18. Water levels in Perth-Andover peaked at 77.41metres at 20:30 hours, April 11. Beechwood to Mactaquac: The first significant ice jam began to develop in the Florenceville area on April 4 when ice on the Saint John River moved from the mouth of Shikatehawk Stream down to Florenceville. Further ice movements on April 5 created a one kilometre long ice jam, with the head [upstream] located about two kilometres below Florenceville bridge. By the morning of April 6, water levels had risen to within 1.0 m to1.2 m of the road. The jam moved approximately two kilometres further downstream at noon that day and stopped just upstream of the mouth of Big Presque Isle Stream. By the morning of April 7, water levels rose to within 0.6 metres of the road, and guard rails were preventing blocks of ice from spilling onto the road. From April 6 to the 7th, some ice had run out of the river downstream of the ice jam near the mouth of Big Presque Isle Stream, creating a 4.5 km "narrow" strip of open water extending from Upper Stickney (three kilometres downstream of the jam) to Lower Peel Island. Large open areas in the ice were also developing downstream in the Simonds and Hartland areas. At 21:00 hours, April 7, the ice jam by the mouth of Big Presque Isle Stream broke, and moved to the upstream end of Upper Becaguimec Island to form a jam 4.5 km in length, extending upstream to Peel Island. The water level at the Simonds gauge peaked overnight at 49.51 metres and was receding by the morning of April 8. Route 103 was flooded to a depth of 0.3 to 0.4 metres, over a section six to nine metres long on the morning of April 8. Floodwaters also inundated an aircraft hanger located next to the jam to a depth of 0.5 metres, and aircraft were removed from the hanger. Ice cover continued to deteriorate, forming numerous open areas downstream of the jam. By evening of April 8, there was only 0.8 km of ice separating two major open water stretches, one located immediately downstream of the jam, and the other in the Hartland area. At 02:50 hours, April 9, the ice jam moved down to Lower Becaguimec Island, and extended upstream five kilometres to a point 1.5 km above the Hugh John Flemming Bridge. The head of the jam was now located close to Upper Becaguimec Island, where the tail of the jam was previously lodged. Water levels in Hartland rose, and by 11:30 hours, April 9, the ice jam was six kilometres in length, with broken ice one to 2.4 metres below the bottom chord of the Hartland covered bridge. The water levels at 07:00 hours on April 10 were 47.78 metres and 48.84 metres at Hartland and Simonds respectively. Minor flooding was occurring, with water over sections of highway at Hartland and Simonds. By the morning of April 10, a three-kilometre open channel existed downstream of the jam at Lower Becaguimec Island. Later that day, the ice jam moved 12 km downstream to Sharpes Island near Woodstock, where the Grafton railroad bridge is located. The jam extended upstream 11 km, and was causing flooding over the road at Lower Hartland and Newburg. Ice was reported to be on the rails of the railroad bridge. The water level at Hartland quickly dropped to approximately 47.0 metres after the jam moved to Sharpes Island. On April 11, the jam moved six kilometres. It stopped two kilometres downstream of the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River, and extended upstream five kilometres. Water levels at Woodstock peaked at 42.84 m at 22:55 hours on April 11. By the morning of April 12, the water level had dropped to 41.77 m, and Front Street was flooded up to 0.15 m deep over a distance of about 100 m. Approximately 0.05 m of water was over the road at Newburg, and blocks of ice were scattered over a road at Grafton. The jam consolidated during the day, causing the water level to rise again to a maximum of 42.76 m at 16:44 hours. By 23:50 hours on April 12, the water level was 42.35 m, and the ice jam extended upriver only two kilometres. Water levels by Woodstock continued to drop gradually over the next few days, and on April 14 the remnants of the jam moved four kilometres downstream to Bulls Creek. No further flooding resulted from this ice jam. Nashwaak River: On April 7, a 0.4 km long ice jam (approx. two metres high) developed upstream of McLaggan Bridge, but no flooding resulted due to the high river banks at this location. Downstream by Nashwaak Village, there was some innundation of low-lying fields but the ice cover remained intact. Water levels at this location were within about one metre of Route 8. No damages resulted, and flooding ceased by April 12.
Preliminary estimates of the flood damage were placed at $1.3 million. No cost shared or Provincial assistance programs were established.