Residents prepare as major flooding expected on the lower Ottawa River
Streets and homes should be affected but peak expected well below historic highs
The Ottawa River may flood some streets and homes east of Pembroke starting Wednesday, according to its monitoring and managing body. It expects floodwaters to stay well below the historic levels reached in 2019.
The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board said in a Monday afternoon update it expects water levels along the main stem of the lower Ottawa River, from Lac Coulonge to Montreal, to exceed "major flood" levels.
That's "the level at which one or several streets are beginning to flood, with several houses/buildings or neighbourhoods being affected."
Affected areas, according to an updated flood warning from three Ontario conservation authorities, include Alfred and Plantagenet, Britannia/Lac Deschênes, Chats Lake, Clarence-Rockland, Constance Bay, Cumberland and low-lying areas toward Montreal.
The flood warning, which is the highest level on a five-level scale, indicates that major flooding in those areas is imminent, according to the Mississippi Valley, South Nation and Rideau Valley conservation authorities.
It said water levels are expected to rise by the following amount over the next two to three days in these areas of concern:
- Constance Bay: 0.7 metres.
- Grandview Road and Belltown: 0.65 metres.
- Boise Village, Morin Road and Leo Lane: 1 metre.
- Rockland: 1 metre.
- Hawkesbury: 0.5 metres.
As one example, according to data from the board the water level at Britannia was about 59.5 metres above sea level at 5 p.m. Monday.
It's forecast to reach 60 metres Thursday, just under a metre higher than the April 20 average but 70 centimetres below the all-time high reading there in 2019.
Residents prepare
At the Constance and Buckham's Bay Community Centre in west Ottawa, volunteers and city staff filled sandbags Tuesday.
Volunteer efforts, which started in earnest Tuesday morning, are designed to get sandbags to seniors and other vulnerable residents who live in flood-prone areas, said Heather Lucente, flood director and co-chair for West Carleton Disaster Relief.
"In past years, we've had really, really great support — from all over the city, from even the province — of people coming out … and really helping those homeowners that are so vulnerable," she said.
Lucente estimated most of the area's at-risk properties will require 3,000 to 4,000 sandbags for protection from rising water levels.
Speaking at the community centre Tuesday, West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly said the city is preparing for 2017 levels of flooding, a year that saw "historic" floods in the region.
"We're doing everything we possibly can to prepare for that," Kelly said.
Jim Simpson, a resident on Constance Bay, is watching the water levels closely. He said he'll need sandbags four-feet high around his property.
Coun. Theresa Kavanagh, whose Bay Ward is another area where flooding has been an issue in the past, told CBC she hasn't yet received any reports of flooding. Brittania village in Bay Ward was one of the areas named in the flood warning.
Kavanagh said the neighbourhood is better prepared this year than it has been for past floods.
"We've got a plan in terms of how to help people, and there's an element of just keeping people calm as well," she said.
1,000 Gatineau homes could flood
Most of the water currently entering the Ottawa River comes from areas where there are no reservoirs or no capacity to retain water, the warning said.
The association added increased snowmelt due to above-normal snowpack and high temperatures over the coming weekend are expected to drive an increase in water levels.
The board also notes rain in the forecast for Tuesday and Saturday.
In a news conference Monday, Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle said city staff estimate up to 1,000 Gatineau residences could be flooded by Wednesday.
Gatineau began distributing sandbags at seven locations Monday at 8 p.m. and will close several streets across the city in the coming days, Bélisle said.
Ottawa has sandbags available at 13 locations and has closed some pathways, saying "residents whose properties and neighbourhoods have experienced flooding in the past 20 years should expect flooding this week."