Since the big floods of 2017, a task force has been keeping an eye on the water levels every year
A City of Ottawa task force is keeping an eye on water levels in preparation for the spring thaw. They say that major flooding isn’t expected right away, but that could change in the coming weeks.
Alain Gonthier, the general manager of public works, and Kim Ayotte, the general manager of emergency and protective services, said in a memo sent Thursday that water levels are normal or close to normal.
“As members of council are aware, the Ottawa River basin had more rain and snow than usual during the peak of the freshet in the past few years, and the city was flooded for a long time,” their memo said.
A freshet is a big increase in the amount of water flowing into a river in the spring. This is caused by snow melting and sometimes rain. Since major floods hit the Ottawa area in 2017, the city has set up a flood task force every year.
In 2019, heavy flooding hit the area again, so the city declared a state of emergency and asked the Canadian Armed Forces for help.
Levels are already rising in some upriver lakes
One partner working with the task force is the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA).
In a statement released Thursday, the RVCA said that an unusually warm and snowy winter has caused the water levels in some lakes upriver of Ottawa to rise.
The amount of snow in the Rideau Valley watershed varies, but the RVCA says that the Ottawa area has the most snow.
“Only because we have more water than usual in the snow and more water than usual in some upper watershed lakes, there is a chance of more flooding than usual this spring,” the statement said.
The authority said that any floods would probably hit low-lying areas that have flooded in the past. But it won’t start melting right away because the first half of March is expected to be cold and dry.
The annual ice removal on the Rideau River between Rideau Falls and Bronson Avenue has already started.