Lakefront homes in Stoney Creek encased in ice

People living on the lakefront in Stoney Creek are feeling scared and helpless as homes become encased in ice.

Terry Walsh says escaping her rental home through the window has been a common occurrence this winter and residents feel that the worst is yet to come.

The ice mountain that borders their home is daunting, but the real problems, they say, will begin when it all melts.

“Honestly I’m scared. This is all going to melt and we are going to have huge flooding here.”

CHCH News visited this same home in April of last year, there was a different tenant at the time. A spring storm brought rocks from the lake inside the same house. The landlord told us he was going to rebuild and in October, Walsh and her husband moved in.

Neighbours down the street on First Private road say flooding is inevitable, they pumped out water from their basement for days last spring.

The owner of the private road says that this is a completely unserviced road and that if the people who live here want snow removal or proper drainage they need to contact their landlords.

City councillor Maria Pearson says this road was never owned by the city and that as far as she knows, the owners of the five homes on this private road have always been the ones responsible for maintaining it.

As for now, the residents on this street are bracing for the big melt in the spring.