Accessibility and Access Keys [0]
OTTAWA — For the first time since 2005, the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority might issue a Level 1 alert, which would trigger a call for voluntary water conservation measures.
The authority, in a media release Wednesday,. said Rideau Valley river and stream flows were well below normal for this time of year because of low precipitation since January. This year’s average precipitation at weather stations around the Rideau watershed is 76 per cent of what is considered normal for the first five months of 2010.
There is normally about 80 millimetres of rain in Ottawa in May. This May, only about 35 mm of rain fell, and most of that was in the first eight days of the month.
The impact on stream flows has been significant, the authority said. Normal flows for the end of May on the Rideau River in Ottawa are about 32 cubic metres per second (cms). The flow on May 31 was 8.8 cms. On the Jock River, flows are typically around four cms in May but on May 31 the flow was 0.6 cms.
Jock River flows have been lower on May 31 only twice in the 41 years on record.
Kemptville Creek and the Tay River had similar situations with flows well below normal for the end of May.
This week’s rain could help cause an increase in flows toward normal for the time of year. However, Conservation Authority staff, the release said, will continue to monitor conditions and, if warranted, will declare Level 1 low water conditions as part of the Ontario Low Water Response program. If the conditions worsen to Level 2 and 3, mandatory cuts may have to be imposed.
More information about Ontario’s Low Water Response program is available at http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Water/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_164583.html