FLOOD WATCH: Ottawa River – Arnprior to Hawkesbury
Weather Forecast:
Meteorological forecasts indicate that two low pressure systems will be combining to produce significant rainfall of 40 to 50 mm throughout the Ottawa River watershed beginning on Thursday, April 18, 2019.
Environmental Conditions:
The current snowpack throughout much of the Ottawa River basin remains at twice its normal depth for this time of the year.
Risks:
Combined with spring runoff from the central and southern portions of the watershed, this precipitation is expected to cause a rapid and sustained increase in water levels and flows on the main stem of the Ottawa River.
Levels will exceed minor flood levels over the Easter weekend in flood prone areas along the Ottawa River at Lake Coulonge, Chats Lake, Britannia / Lac Deschênes, Pointe-Gatineau, Ottawa / Cumberland, Rockland, Thurso and other vulnerable areas down to the Montreal Archipelago.
Levels are not expected to reach those observed at the height of the Ottawa River flood in 2017 at this time.
ACTION:
Residents are advised to stay away from watercourses where flows are high and where banks might be unstable. Parents are encouraged to explain these dangers to their children.
Duration:
This Flood Watch is in effect until Tuesday, April 23, 2019.
South Nation Conservation (SNC) and its Ottawa partners, the Rideau Valley and Mississippi Valley Conservation Authorities, monitor the water levels and weather forecasts with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry as part of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Program. Updates are provided as conditions change.
The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board will be reassessing forecast conditions and providing hydrological condition updates on its website daily at www.ottawariver.ca/forecast.php.
Please visit www.nation.on.ca for more information. To provide feedback with respect to changes in water related conditions please email waterwatch@nation.on.ca, posted on our Facebook (/SouthNationConservation) or Twitter (@SouthNationCA). For more information regarding the Ottawa River, visit www.ottawariver.ca.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jason Symington, SNC Environmental Technologist,
613-551-9057, jsymington@nation.on.ca.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES: John Mesman, SNC Team Lead of Communications,
613-899-5341, jmesman@nation.on.ca.
FORWARDED TO: All Flood Forecasting and Warning Directory
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