Torrential storms over the weekend caused water levels to rise significantly on the Allegheny River from the Kinzua Dam in Warren to Pittsburgh, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.
Water levels are decreasing but will stay elevated for the next five to seven days, according to Megan Gottlieb, water management lead for the Corps, Pittsburgh district.
Boaters can expect continued swift water with debris, she said.
“Exercise caution. Check for water conditions from the U.S. Geological Survey website or a local outfitter,” she said.
Although flooding was not reported, the high water Sunday caused an outage of Lock No. 5 at Schenley, Gilpin Township, and at Lock No. 9 at Rimer, according to the Corps.
On Monday, Kayak Pittsburgh Downtown, under the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh, shut down kayak rentals on the Allegheny because of the river’s high flow rate.
Boaters throughout the region reported high, brown water with debris.
“It’s nasty out there,” reported a local boater Monday in the Fox Chapel area of the Allegheny River on the Pittsburgh Boat Life Facebook page.
The nasty water conditions won’t change soon, as the Corps slowly releases excess water from the Kinzua Dam.
Corps reservoirs north of Armstrong County got socked with 2 to 3 inches of rain over the weekend, Gottlieb said.
The river level at Lock No. 5 rose by 5.7 feet from Friday to Sunday. In Pittsburgh, the Allegheny rose about 1.5 feet over the weekend, she said.
