Dangerous waterways

A special weather statement has been issued for many of the cities around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie with heavy rain in the forecast. Thick fog is being seen in some areas as well.

And Hamilton police are warning people to stay away from creeks and even culverts. Waterways are swollen and moving quickly, as the police marine unit found Friday when officers were checking different streams around the city. They say there’s still a lot of snow under the forest canopy around the city, and when that melts it runs off the escarpment and into places like Spencer Creek.

Constable Marshall Bushell is with the Hamilton Police Marine Unit: “Stay away. If people think ice is dangerous, the swift water is 10 times more dangerous. One of the big problems, if you get in there, especially in shallow water, your first reaction is to stand up. But what happens, if you stand up, your feet can get locked under a rock or log and the pressure of the water behind you will lock you in and you physically will not be able to move — period.”

Police expect the conditions to get even more treacherous as the rain continues to fall.