Hamilton Beach Strip residents pumping floodwater from their basements should see conditions ease this summer — the Hamilton Conservation Authority says Lake Ontario levels have peaked and are beginning to fall.
The HCA’s monthly report, for April 27 to May 25, states water levels were 35 centimetres above average for the time of year.
Jonathan Bastien, HCA’s Water Resources Engineering Manager, said water levels had begun to decrease during the final days of May and into early June.
“Lake Ontario water levels have dropped about three centimetres in the last week or so, still 30, 32 centimetres above average but coming down,” Bastien told the HCA Board on Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Ward 5 Hamilton City Councillor Matt Francis, who sits on the HCA Board, described the flooding conditions his constituents are facing.
“My beach community, particularly residents on the bayside, have been experiencing flooding in their basement. They’ve been pumping consistently, constantly out of their sump pumps,” Francis said.
“The expectation is that we’ve reached the peak already for sure for Lake Ontario levels in this area. That’s under normal rain conditions,” Bastien said. “If this is a normal summer, we shouldn’t see higher lake levels. Obviously, if it’s wetter than normal, that could change the forecast, but for right now, we should be seeing a steady decline over the summer, or at least that’s what they’re forecasting.”
Beyond lake levels, Bastien reported that watercourse conditions across the broader HCA watershed have also been easing, with most watercourse flows “estimated to range from baseflow to slightly above baseflow, which is where we expect them to be.”
The next regular watercourse update is scheduled to be released as part of the July 2, 2026 HCA Board agenda.
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Published: June 13, 2026
Last updated: June 13, 2026
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