{"id":131804,"date":"2025-08-09T13:26:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T13:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/131804\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T13:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T13:26:10","slug":"stratfords-iconic-avon-river-has-dried-up-stunning-locals-and-tourists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/131804\/","title":{"rendered":"Stratford\u2019s iconic Avon River has dried up, stunning locals and tourists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The water in Lake Victoria in Stratford, Ont., started receding after a brutal storm tore through Perth County on July 24.Nicole Osborne\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

From its earliest days, the Avon River has been the heart of the community of Stratford, Ont. <\/p>\n

The centrepiece of the river, known as Lake Victoria, was created in the 1830s as a millpond for industry. The parks board later convinced the city to invest in horse-drawn scoops to dredge the lake. Locals warded off railroad proposals along the shorelines, where roses from Queen Mary were planted. A pair of swans from Queen Elizabeth arrived in 1967.<\/p>\n

However, late last month, residents and tourists, who flock to the city each summer for its festivals and theatre, were stunned when the lake emptied into a silty channel. <\/p>\n

The low water levels in Lake Victoria were the first thing Peter White and Joan Belford noticed when they arrived for their annual theatre<\/a> weekend. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen it like this,\u201d said Mr. White, standing near the waterfront on Friday. He has been visiting Stratford with his wife for more than a decade. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Lake Victoria’s local ecosystem supports multiple native species such as Green Sunfish and Bluegill, as well as mussels and snapping turtles.Nicole Osborne\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

The water started receding after a brutal storm tore through Perth County on July 24. The onslaught of rain opened the gates of Stratford\u2019s dam and water rushed downstream. The current pulled branches and brush with it, stopping the dam\u2019s gates from closing, and Lake Victoria slowly emptied out. <\/p>\n

It took a week for the crew from the conservation authority responsible for operating the dam to clear the debris. Now, the centrepiece of Stratford\u2019s park system is filling, but the lack of rainfall has kept the lake at only about 30 per cent of its usual depth, said Emily Chandler, a spokesperson for the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes with the Stratford Festival\u2019s artisans<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dry summer. We\u2019ve had some extreme summer storms. This is climate change impacting us and impacting our river,\u201d said Ms. Chandler, who grew up in Stratford.<\/p>\n

When considering how to best manage the river system, Ms. Chandler said the conservation authority must balance a variety of factors, including tourism and the need to protect aquatic life. The local ecosystem supports multiple native species including Green Sunfish and Bluegill, as well as mussels and snapping turtles. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis has highlighted how much we appreciate the river, but also how little we know about it,\u201d Ms. Chandler said.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Emily Chandler, a spokesperson for the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, says lack of rainfall has kept the lake at only about 30 per cent of its usual depth.Nicole Osborne\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Almost two million tourists visit Stratford every year, and residents rely on visitors to make ends meet. The marquee event, the Stratford Festival<\/a>, injected roughly $150-million into the local economy in 2023. <\/p>\n

Kelan and Melissa Kerr, who own the Boathouse, a multigenerational boat rental and patio business, watched the lake dry up during what was supposed to be their busiest month of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAugust normally accounts for 40 per cent of our business,\u201d Mr. Herr said, adding that the summer season represents a \u201cshort window.\u201d<\/p>\n

Usually the lake laps gently against the Boathouse patio where they launch boats; this summer it\u2019s a six-foot, silt-filled drop into the river. <\/p>\n

What is the best show to see at this year\u2019s Stratford Festival? Our theatre reporter answers your questions<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first summer that the Herr siblings are operating the business, which was originally built as a public boating dock in 1913 as a tactic to popularize recreational activities on the river and prevent railroad companies from garnering community support. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis community without the park would be totally different. I think that\u2019s what people are seeing with the river, how much it is really part of the fabric of Stratford,\u201d Mr. Herr said. <\/p>\n

With their water operations shut down, Boathouse staff started \u201cthe bucket challenge.\u201d They nominated other local businesses to throw buckets of water off the Boathouse patio as a light-hearted marketing tactic aimed at making the best of a difficult situation. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Cade Gallagher of the Stratford Summer Music Program participates in ‘the bucket challenge’ on Friday.Nicole Osborne\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge is to create awareness,\u201d said Kelly Lindsay, owner of Corner Store Candy Co. \u201cOur friends at the Boathouse can\u2019t operate their boats. It\u2019s a family business that\u2019s been there for more than 60 years.\u201d <\/p>\n

Next door, co-owners of the colourful eyeglasses store, Coles and Keys Inc., Nikki Wagler and Nicole Streicher, both participated in the challenge. They said they wanted to show that Stratford\u2019s business community only flourishes when they operate as a collective. <\/p>\n

Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma has spent his life in the city as a corn farmer, teacher, principal and finally municipal politician. This is the first time he\u2019s seen Lake Victoria so depleted.<\/p>\n

In the coming months, the conservation authority will give a report to the city about what caused Lake Victoria to drain and how it can be prevented in the future, Mr. Ritsma said.<\/p>\n

He said Stratford\u2019s parks will always be part of the city\u2019s fabric. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe emotional piece will always remain. I am confident the community will come together,\u201d Mr. Ritsma said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The water in Lake Victoria in Stratford, Ont., started receding after a brutal…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":131805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2148,2138,671,104,2132,692,2147,2131,2143,2144,2140,2133,2130,79,407,746,2142,2137,2159,2134,2135,454,2139,1165,728,2149,108,2154,2155,50,2157,2152,2156,2150,2153,2136,85,2146,80,2145,2151,1458,158,1164,2141,1154,107,2158],"class_list":{"0":"post-131804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-life-news","31":"tag-lifestyle","32":"tag-local-news","33":"tag-manitoba","34":"tag-national-news","35":"tag-new-brunswick","36":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","37":"tag-news","38":"tag-northwest-territories","39":"tag-nova-scotia","40":"tag-nunavut","41":"tag-ontario","42":"tag-pei","43":"tag-photos","44":"tag-political-news","45":"tag-political-opinion","46":"tag-politics","47":"tag-politics-news","48":"tag-quebec","49":"tag-sports-news","50":"tag-technology","51":"tag-travel","52":"tag-trudeau","53":"tag-us-news","54":"tag-world-news","55":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}