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Sandbagging operations along the banks of the Mille Îles and Rivière des Prairies continue as water levels are reported almost two metres higher than normal.
Spring runoff has swollen the Ottawa River and its tributaries, but the flooding appears to have been contained, and not as serious as forecast, considering this winter’s near-record snowfall.
“Even though the water levels are receding, we are still concerned about the threat of rain and possibly thunderstorms,” said Lucie René, St. Geneviève borough communications officer.
“The warm weather (and no rain) in the last few days has helped, but the river is still a few feet above normal,” she added.
Catherine Morsink, whose backyard in Pierrefonds is under water, said she’s no longer worried about her house being flooded.
“The landing is under water, but the house is safe,” she said. “It was much worse about 10 years ago. It looks like the river is about 40 feet wider, but our sump pumps aren’t going like they were earlier this week.
‘’We had them running every 10 or 15 minutes, but even when they were running I was more concerned about the pumps (being overworked) than I was about being flooded,” Morsink said.
Samuel Bernard, who lives along the river in St. Geneviève said parking lots around several riverfront apartment blocks like the Marina Centre on Gouin Blvd. are under water, “but hopefully, the water won’t rise any more.”
Some streets in Laval are under water and the city has given out about 30,000 sandbags so residents can keep rising levels at bay.
In the Greater Montreal area, about 35 or 40 houses in low lying areas along the river have reported serious flooding.
If the weather holds, the worst should be over by tomorrow according to Marc Lavallée, director of the Montreal region for the public security ministry.
ahustak@thegazette.canwest.com
© The Gazette 2008