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Warm weather at the end of last week has prompted the Ottawa River Regulating Planning Board to issue a flood advisory for low areas near the river in and around Pembroke.
“We’re pretty safe for the moment,” said Fergus McLaughlin of the Ottawa River Regulating Committee. But as the snow melts, Mr. McLaughlin said he thinks that about 100 to 120 millimetres of water will add to the river.
“It’s like a really heavy rain fall, tripled,” he said. “Lets pray we don’t get any rain with the warm weather.”
“I’m not sure if (the snow melting) will be really fast or really slow,” he added. How fast the snow melts determines the amount of water the river can process.
Mr. McLaughlin said the committee monitors water levels each day and it makes the decision to hold or release water from reservoirs connecting with the Ottawa River to ease flooding.
He said putting a reservoir in the area is an idea that came up years ago, but is no longer a viable solution because it would mean relocating area residents and flooding the area, which would be too costly and difficult.
Mr. McLaughlin said in the Pembroke area the Ottawa River is very complex because it contains natural dams, braids, twists, rapids and islands that make the water flow difficult to control. He said because of this water tends to bottleneck, putting low-lying areas at risk of flooding.
“It’s just like a funnel,” he said. “It will back up and overflow. This effect makes it most critical.”
Ontario Power Generation, in co-operation with The Ottawa River Regulating Planning Board and the Madawaska River Water Management Plan, regulated by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, said it strongly advises those using the Ottawa and Madawaska Rivers to avoid Ontario Power Generation’s Ottawa/St. Lawrence Plant Group’s hydroelectric stations, dams and surrounding waterways because of high water levels and the chance of releasing large amounts of water at local dams without warning.
It said, “Changing water flows and levels pose a serious threat to anyone who ventures too close.”
Article ID# 994718