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OTTAWA — September rains pushed just short of a record, and caused a sudden rise in the Ottawa River that surprised homeowners, boaters and even the experts.
The 90 millimetres of rain that fell upriver last weekend came downstream just in time to meet more rain falling here, raising the Ottawa River to spring-like levels from extreme lows.
Shoreline homeowners who weren’t prepared found the sudden rise of about 60 centimetres damaged docks, and broke mooring lines by lifting boats beyond the reach of the ropes.
“It’s very high now. Of course nobody tells you, eh?” said Brian Davis, manager of the Port-of-Call Marina near Constance Bay, where about 60 boats are still in the water.
“The level’s up more than expected, so it caused people some grief. Docks, boats floating away, that sort of thing. They didn’t expect the level to go up so they weren’t ready for it.
“I know people have had boats float away. Some of them don’t even know they’ve lost them. They won’t be here until the weekend.”
Docks on adjustable legs had been set for lower water this summer, and the high water can lift off the deck and float it away, he said. Floating docks are anchored with ropes adjusted for lower water and the rising river can damage them as well.
“It’s back up to a normal spring level from a very low level, so it’s quite a change.”
The marina has had time to adjust to the change, but it’s more difficult for people with cottages, especially if they’ve been away all week, he said.
The Britannia Yacht Club reported no problems, after notifying its members of the rising water so they could loosen their mooring lines.
Boat owners cautioned rising water can even damage the boats themselves if they remain moored too tight to a dock.
The Ottawa River Regulating Committee posted this warning Tuesday evening on its website:
“As a result of significant rainfall, water levels along the Ottawa River are expected to rise for the next few days. Officials of the Ottawa River Regulating Committee would therefore like to alert residents along the river, particularly those that have wharves, docks and boats, to expect significant increases in water levels.”
But the “drastic” rise surprised even the committee, said spokesman Fergus McLaughlin.
“This year because it was so low and so dry, the (river) just shot up so fast that it was impossible to get a warning out.”
That’s because the computer can’t just add up the rain and spit out a perfect prediction, he said. There are too many variables, such as actual rainfall that doesn’t match the forecast, and a river that changes width and depth for every kilometre of its journey to the St. Lawrence.
By the time the regulating committee figured out how far the water would rise, people were phoning to report it already happening.
Early reports said Ontario Power Generation caused the change by opening up its Chats Falls dam at Arnprior. But OPG spokesman Ted Gruetzner said there was no major change there.
There have been adjustments at dams all along the river after heavy rains in Timiskaming, he said.
Fall is normally when officials begin to draw down water levels, making room for next spring’s runoff.
Thursday morning’s level at Lake Deschenes (58.12 metres) was the highest since April. The reservoir of Lake Timiskaming is at 93 per cent of capacity.
Ottawa had 149 millimetres of rain in September, not counting Thursday’s amount. It’s not quite a record — the city had 173 mm in 1973. The month’s average is about 84 mm.
It’s the second wet month in a row; rainfall in August was about twice the average for the month, though not quite a record.
Ottawa Riverkeeper Meredith Brown said the water rise was “not that inconsistent with how the dams operate. I’ve seen water levels go up twice (or) three times that much overnight because of dam releases.”
Ontario Power Generation put a warning on its website Wednesday about high levels and fast water in the Ottawa and Madawaska Rivers.
The good news: The forecast for Friday and the weekend is dry.
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