NB Power warns Mactaquac residents that water levels will drop

NB Power has warned property owners along the Mactaquac headpond that water levels are expected to drop by two feet ahead of a weekend storm, an indication the utility is changing its policy.

Earlier this year, the water unexpectedly dropped about four feet without any warning from NB Power,leaving motorboats beached on rocks and sailboats stuck in the mud.

But after CBC News reported on the issue this week, a notice went out warning that headpond waters are expected to drop by two feet before the forecastpost-tropical storm Elsa hits.

"It's just fantastic," said Jean Paul Arseneau, who had hismotorboattrapped in a lift in June when the water dropped so much, hewasn'table tolower it. "If we'd had this notice all along it really would have saved people's boats."

Arseneau said earlier this year several of hisneighboursfound their boats resting on the rocks when the water went down without warning.

Now, for the first time in the 17 years he's lived on the headpond,he's gotten a heads-up from the utility.

"For them to do this after all this time, it's just wonderful," said Arseneau,"I really, reallyappreciatewhoever at NB Power did that."

NB Power would notprovidean interview on the topic.

ButspokespersonDominique Couture wrote in an email statement that theutility recognizes "that a warning is appreciated by the local community, so we are trying to be proactive and provide advance notice of significant water level changes when possible."

People living along the Mactaquac headpond call for better warnings when the water drops

3 years ago

Duration 1:34

Sudden drops in water levels above the Mactaquac Dam west of Fredericton have beached boats, stranded sailboats, and left docks dry.