Many of us couldn’t wait for spring.
What the people in South Mountain didn’t ask for… their roads turned into rivers.
“I’ve never seen it like this in the five years that I’ve lived here,” says resident Terry Brophy.
A combination of melting snow, warmer weather and heavy rain has triggered flood watches along the River Valley, Cataraqui and South Nation watersheds.
“We monitor the water levels, we notify the municipalities and the residents in our watershed just to give them as much warning as we can,” says Jason Symington of South Nation Conservation.
The main issue right now is flooded roads pooling over from farmer’s fields in the area.
“You take the long way, you go two of three roads over to the next town and go around,” says resident Philip Pollock.
He lives on Bongers Rd. which is flooded as far as the eye can see. CTV News tried to drive through but had to stop around 300 metres in with the water levels reaching the bottom of the vehicle doors.
Residents on Hilly Lane near Kemptville have been advised that their access road will likely be submerged by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.
Don Russell said during the last flood, the water came up to the third step leading to his deck, and that there's another concern that comes with a flood watch.
"The ice can come in, that's the thing and if the ice comes in it's going to do some damage and you can't stop it," Russell says.
The Rideau Valley Conservation authority says ice removal on the lower Rideau River was delayed because of cold weather throughout March.
Many residents moved their vehicles to the main road ahead of Hilly Lane becoming impassible.
With the rain continuing to fall, the flooding will continue.
South Nation says it will peak within the next 12-24 hours. The Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority says its flooding will peak in the next 48 hours. The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority says flooding will continue to rise until Sunday.
With a report from CTV’s John Hua.
