GRCA ends flood warning for Ayr, Drayton and New Hamburg

Flood warned ended in Ayr, New Hamburg, Drayton From CTV Kitchener's Jessica Smith: Water levels have started to recede in the watershed communities of Drayton, Ayr and New Hamburg.

New Hamburg — The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has ended a flood warning for the watershed communities of Ayr, Drayton and New Hamburg.

The areas had experienced flooding after record-breaking rainfall in southern Ontario.

On Thursday, the Nith River in New Hamburg was completed submerged.

Despite water levels starting to recede, the GRCA is still urging caution.

Cam Linwood with the GRCA said water that was taken into the reservoirs upstream during the rain event needs to be released. They have now begun the process to bring them back down to a normal operating range for this time of year.

He said a watershed condition statement will still be in place this weekend.

"A warning means that flooding is occurring in the watershed, whereas a watershed condition statement can indicate that flows are still relatively high or there's a different set of parameters that sort of focus on the types of conditions going on that are different than normal," Linwood said.

The GRCA advises residents to stay off the rivers this weekend.