Though well below the historic flood levels of 2017 and 2019, some property owners along the river from Ottawa to Hawkesbury were still forced to take action and protect their homes from the swelling river. Streets like Voisine Road and Wilson Road in Clarence-Rockland bore the brunt of the river’s expansion.
In Champlain Township, Montpetit Road in L’Orignal has a couple of very large and deep temporary ponds in the middle of the road where the subsurface groundwater bubbled up because of rising river.
With the wettest weather behind us, the river is expected to begin receding, but officials warn that levels could remain well above normal levels for some time.
« Levels and flows have peaked in all locations between Mattawa and Hawkesbury/Grenville and are slowly declining, » the Ottawa River Regulation Board said in a statement Monday, May 8. “For the Ottawa-Gatineau to Grenville-Hawkesbury river reach, levels are expected to decline between 30 and 40 cm over the next four days.”
With expected temperature highs in the low to mid-twenties for the coming week and little to no chance of precipitation, risk of further flooding is certainly diminished, though residents are asked to continue being vigilant.
