Here’s a recent email exchange between Rick Ludkin and Glenn Rivers about the water levels of the Grand River over the holidays.

Rick Ludkin:
Howdy,
I was at Ruthven the other day. The flats must have been under several feet of water – the trees on the flats are ringed with ice 2-3 feet above the ground and all the flats are a sheet of ice. How did this flood compare to record floods of the past?
Thanks
Rick

Glenn Rivers:
Hi Rick…….

If it is assumed that the floods at Brantford are representative of what is happening at Ruthven, there have been 10 floods as large or larger than the latest one since 1948, listed from the biggest……..

May 17, 1974………1780 CMS
Oct 16, 1954……….1590 CMS (caused by Hurricane Hazel)
March 20, 1948……1550 CMS
April 5, 1950……….1430 CMS
April 15, 1979……..1330 CMS
May 12, 1956……..1250 CMS
April 5, 1960……….1150 CMS
Feb 11, 1965………1090 CMS
April 19, 1975……..1050 CMS
April 1, 1982……….1030 CMS (about equal to the latest flood)

A flow of 1780 CMS would probably cause levels around 3 feet or 0.9 meters higher than the latest flood.

-Glenn