City of Ottawa ends state of emergency
OTTAWA — Mayor Jim Watson announced Wednesday that the City of Ottawa is ending its state of emergency related to the Ottawa River floods.
Watson thanked city staff and the thousands of volunteers who helped residents protect their properties.
“Their contributions were critical to our flood-relief efforts,” Watson said during a council meeting.
Volunteers filled 1.5 million sandbags across communities in West Carleton, Britannia and Cumberland and have helped removed sandbags from properties in recent days.
Watson declared the state of emergency on April 25 as flood water creeped onto private properties and city roads.
Anthony Di Monte, general manager of emergency and protective services, said the city is no longer asking for volunteers to help.
City staff have returned to regular duties after being diverted from their full-time roles to help with the flood recovery, Di Monte said. Di Monte said city staff will continue to support residents during the recovery and clean-up work. Ottawa River levels are now below the flood threshold and are projected decline, Di Monte said.