Cleanup from powerful derecho will cost city of Ottawa $20 million

Hydro wires remain down along Woodroffe Avenue in Ottawa's west end. (Jackie Perez/CTV News Ottawa)

The powerful derecho storm that hit Ottawa nearly four months ago will cost the city of Ottawa nearly $20 million this year, with Hydro Ottawa spending another $30 million for cleanup and repairs to the hydro infrastructure.

And the city's treasurer warns the costs associated with the cleanup will continue into next year.

The cleanup continues after the storm hit Ottawa on May 21, causing widespread damage to homes and property across the city of Ottawa and knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers for more than a week. Shortly after the storm hit on the May long weekend, 180,000 homes and businesses in Ottawa were without power.

In a memo to council Tuesday evening, Chief Financial Officer Wendy Stephenson said the city of Ottawa is forecasting the emergency response and recovery costs will total $15.25 million, plus another $4.25 million for capital repairs.

The derecho damaged three city of Ottawa assets, including two salt domes and the roof of a city building.

Stephanson says the city has spent $9 million to date on the emergency response and recovery following the storm.

"These include expenses related to the City’s emergency response, City tree and debris removal, waste disposal, repairs of signalized intersections, parks, pathways and wooded area clean-up, as well as community support centres and wellness visits," Stephanson said.

Stephanson says a report for the Finance and Economic Development Committee in October will outline the costs of the cleanup and be reflected in the overall tax and rate updates.

"As clean-up efforts will flow in to 2023, financial pressures are expected to continue into next year."

The city's Public Works department has been dedicated to storm recovery since the storm hit. Council was told on Tuesday that since the storm, crews have completed the following:

• Removed approximately 260 tons of organic waste through a green bin blitz
• Repaired approximately 175 signalized intersections and over 650 traffic signs
• Inspected and collected storm-related debris, including thousands of damaged trees, along over 10,000 lane-km of roadways
• Removed storm and tree-related damage in over 500 parks

The removal of all storm-related tree debris and organic waste will become part of the regular leaf and yard waste collection on Sept. 16.

Forestry Services is working on the process to remove 450 uprooted stumps and 2,000 intact stumps following the storm.  Work will begin in the fall to remove the uprooted stumps, and continue into 2023.

Hydro Ottawa has estimated the costs associated with the derecho cleanup efforts to be approximately $30 million.

In May, Mayor Jim Watson said Premier Doug Ford promised the Ontario government would cover all municipal costs associated with the storm.