Flood situation improving along Ottawa waterways

Rushing Ottawa River water. Photo by Chris Avery via Flickr.

Flood warnings have been downgraded to water safety statements at Ottawa-area waterways, including the Ottawa River and the Mississippi and Carp watersheds, as levels return to the season usual.

“Based on Ottawa River Regulating Committee forecasts, Ottawa River water levels are declining, and the rate of decline is slowing as they reach normal summer targets. There is no snow remaining in the watershed and reservoirs are now targeting summer levels,” the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority said in a news release. Helping in the water level decline has been the lack of rain in recent days (other than the 14.1 mm that fell on May 20.)

It’s not just the Ottawa River which is receding. The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority terminated their flood warning for the Mississippi and Carp watersheds on Tuesday, citing weather forecasts that suggest the trend of declining levels will continue. Levels are slowly returning to seasonal conditions on Dalhousie and Mississippi Lakes. “Flows in the Mississippi River are slightly above normal for this time of year and are [expected] to return to seasonal conditions in the coming weeks,” the agency said in a statement. 

As of Tuesday, the City of Ottawa has begun curbside collection of used sandbags and will continue to do so periodically for the next two weeks. For more updates from the city about spring flooding recovery, see ottawa.ca/springflooding.