Accessibility and Access Keys [0]
By Meghan Hurley, Ottawa Citizen
Residents near Kemptville say they were caught off-guard by flooding that began Friday and has trapped people in their homes.
They are calling on the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and the Municipality of North Grenville to step in.
Hilly Lane Private resident Don Rudman, 63, said he was only given 24 hours notice that a flood was imminent. He said a flood notice posted on the conservation authority’s website isn’t effective at warning a community populated by seniors.
“We have things under the house or in the yard that has to be moved to higher ground and we just don’t have time for that,” Rudman said. “They don’t even know we’re here until it’s tax time or flood time.”
The conservation authority posted a notice on its website dated March 16, but Rudman said that memo was actually posted on Thursday.
The memo said the warm weather would cause the snow in the Rideau River to melt and a flood was possible.
The rapid melt of this year’s snowfall has caused the Rideau River to breach its banks in several spots.
“The RVCA recommends that everyone living near a watercourse should inform themselves of the flood risks in their area and should review their own plans for minimizing flood-related property damages and inconveniences,” the memo says. “Municipal officials should review their flood response plans and the usual preparations should be made to respond to emergency situations as required.”
Rudman, who noticed the water rising on his lawn, managed to bring the items stored under his house inside just in time and moved his wife’s car to Rideau River Road.
The flood cut off 20 homes from Rideau River Road. Some residents who live on Hilly Lane Private have parked their cars along the highway and are wading through the freezing water, to get to their cars.
Rudman lugged his Christmas and Halloween decorations inside, which are now scattered around his living room.
“I just got rid of the Christmas tree and now I’ve got it back again,” he said
North Grenville Mayor David Gordon said Saturday the ice buckled a lot sooner than it usually does. Gordon said the municipality can’t do much to warn residents of possible flooding since that is the conservation authority’s responsibility. But he said he is willing to sit down with the conservation authority and residents to discuss their options.
“I don’t guarantee there’s a solution because mother nature is a force greater than us, but if there is a solution to make it easier for them, I’m open,” Gordon said.
“My sympathies go out because I look at the river everyday and I cross my fingers that there isn’t an ice jam further up the river because if it does, it’s going to flood up my way.”
Rudman said a solution is to raise Hilly Lane Private. That would give the residents access to their homes and, in the case of an emergency, an ambulance could get into the neighbourhood.
Rudman said the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority won’t consider raising the road. “None of these politicians or bureaucrats have the guts to solve a problem,” he said. “We all say it’s a problem, but no one wants to challenge the problem or solve the problem.”
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