Receding water levels now mean that the city of Windsor's east-end sandbag station is no longer needed.
Due to the declining demand for sandbags, the city has closed the sandbag station on Little River Road, which opened in early April as the city also dealt with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. The city had also offered additional services to some waterfront residents who were in isolation due to the pandemic.
Mayor Drew Dilkens said the city was lucky it did not have to deal with a double whammy of issues.
"It’s easy to forget that, just a few months ago, our community faced the prospect of a natural disaster on top of the pandemic," said Dilkens in a media release. "In late spring, our team at City Hall was monitoring water levels at the same time as we were COVID-19 case counts. While we never faced major flooding this year, the risk remained high throughout the late winter and spring, that’s why continuing to invest per the Sewer Master Plan is a major priority."
Dwayne Dawson, the city's executive director of operations, said the sandbag station served a lot of people during the spring and summer, when water levels on Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River were elevated.
"Over the course of this year, we’ve provided approximately 30,000 sandbags to property owners as a precaution against overland flooding," said Dawson. "With water levels now down and winter on the way, the more immediate threat has passed, so we’re redeploying our resources elsewhere until needed again."
The city is advising affected property owners with sandbags in place to leave them where they are until a forecast for spring water levels is given.
