No danger of Ottawa River flooding ‘at the moment’

And here’s some good news. The Ottawa River is behaving itself so far this spring.

Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin held a short news conference Thursday to discuss the spring run-off situation, and told reporters this is one thing that residents don’t have to worry about unless conditions change significantly.

“First and foremost, I want to say that the figures relating to (possible) flooding are staying very positive, in the zone where there is no danger for the moment,” he said.

“This is important because we’re in a crisis that is worrying people, the COVID crisis, and we don’t want to cause people unnecessary worry about a flood,” he said. “At this moment things are fine.”

Conditions could change, he noted, “but the forecast for the coming days is positive.”

The river had been rising steadily in early April, though below last year’s levels. But figures from the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board show that the level has been falling slowly since Saturday.

The river at Britannia fell by 15 centimetres in that period, the numbers show. The level is now a little less than 59.5 metres above sea level. Last spring it hit a record 60.7 m at Britannia, and the 2017 flood level reached 60.45 m.

The peaks in both those years came at the beginning of May, both times after a combination of heavy rains and above-average run-off from melting snow.

The City of Gatineau has six measuring stations along the Ottawa, with current levels shown online. As of Thursday, five show normal spring levels, and one at Britannia shows the river just at the low edge of levels that could cause “minor” flooding.