April showers bring flooded roads
This spring is proving a wet one for Eastern Ontario with flood warnings throughout the region.
The ministry of Natural Resources issued a Flood Watch last week, from its Kemptville district office, for the northeastern reaches of the Ottawa River region. That includes Clarence-Rockland, Hawkesbury, Champlain and East Hawkesbury townships. But residents in the village of Casselman, The Nation Municipality, and Russell Township, as well as the rural areas of Ottawa should also be alert.
Several roads in almost every community have experienced flooding. County road 9 near the Séguin Bridge was closed on the St-Isidore village side, because of serious flooding of The Nation River. The latest report at press time from the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) public works department was that County Road 9 should be open to traffic again on Tuesday, April 11 with floodwaters receding. County Road 15 was reopened to traffic earlier in the week after it was closed because of flood conditions.
Residents should consult their municipal website for notices of which roads in their areas are still closed due to flooding. They are also advised to avoid going close to any shorelines during the current high water situation and to make sure that their children and pets are kept away from fastrunning streams.
Homeowners with sump pump systems for their dwellings should also check to make sure those pumps are in good condition and working.
The current flood situation is due to heavy spring rains and winter snow melting, causing a rapid rise in stream levels everywhere. The ground has also become saturated and slow to absorb more water, adding to the heavier runoff situation. L’eau a balayé le chemin de comté 9 près du pont Séguin, entre Plantagenet et SaintIsidore, alors que la rivière Nation a débordé suite aux récentes pluies abondantes et à d’autres facteurs. Les résidents de Prescott-Russell sont invités à vérifier les sites Web municipaux pour des mises à jour sur les fermetures de routes en raison des inondations locales.