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OTTAWA — Unseasonably low water levels on the Ottawa River have forced the cancellation of a popular kayaking competition and could signal things to come on the river this summer.
For the first time in nine years, organizers of the Level Six Capital Cup — originally scheduled for April 24 — called off the annual freestyle kayaking competition because the water level at Bate Island, where the event is held, is too low.
The Capital Cup is usually held the last week of April, when the water level in past years has been consistently high, thanks to melting snow and spring runoff.
Without that higher water level, the standing wave that usually enables professionals and amateurs alike to perform tricks simply doesn’t exist.
“It would be like trying to hold a ski event on a hill without any snow,” organizer Tyler Lawlor said.
Lawlor, who lives in Aylmer and drives over the Champlain Bridge every day, said the standing wave came up briefly a few weeks ago, but only lasted for a few days.
“Right now we’re experiencing late-August conditions,” he said.
Lawlor said the Capital Cup is one of the few events of its kind held so close to a city centre, where the public can easily come out and see what all the fuss is about.
“We were exposing white-water kayaking to hundreds,” he said, adding last year’s event drew between 60 to 100 competitors from the United States, Quebec and Ontario, and about 1,000 spectators throughout the weekend.
Matt Hamilton, a former member of the Canadian freestyle kayaking team, has competed in every Capital Cup and has served as head judge.
“A lot of other events had to fold because they couldn’t guarantee water levels,” Hamilton said, citing past events on the Crow and Gull rivers as examples.
Hamilton said he feared a year without the event in Ottawa could affect crowds in future years.
Ottawa Riverkeeper executive director Meredith Brown said the river usually has two peaks in its flow.
The first typically occurs in early spring as snow melts into lower tributaries and causes a rush into the Ottawa River. The second usually happens at the end of May, when snow in the northern part of the watershed melts.
This year, though, a smaller snowpack and warmer temperatures early in the season caused the melt to happen prematurely.
“The peak happened sooner and it was not as high as typical,” Brown said.
The low water levels could impact fish migration routes and Brown said shallower water would heat up faster in the summer and could create more algae blooms. They could also impact recreational boating and make it tough for landowners to moor their boats along the shore.
“The water levels are mostly felt by people who are living on the river,” Brown said.
Water levels are about a month ahead of schedule, she added.
“It is really low and it’s setting up for most likely a pretty low summer unless we get a lot of rain.”
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