Ottawa Valley residents prepare for flooding

Residents along the Ottawa River in Renfrew County are preparing for what experts are expecting to be major flooding.

The Ottawa River Regulating Committee has issued flood warnings along the Ottawa River ranging from Lac Coulonge in Whitewater Region to Lac des Chats near Arnprior.

Major flood warnings have also be issued for Laurentian Valley, with minor flood warnings in Pembroke.

"We are anticipating levels like 2017," Neil Nicholson, mayor of Whitewater Region tells CTV News.

"We've dispatched sand piles out to some of the areas we know are high threat areas."

At this time, Nicholson anticipates flooding to affect 50 properties in the township located along the Ottawa River.

He says that could change depending on weather conditions, such as wind, effecting the river's waves and current, and rainfall, more of which is expected the coming weekend.

Flood levels in the area are expected to peak Wednesday through Friday.

"If we see the levels rise a little bit higher we will start to engage the community as a whole," says Nicholson.

"We will go to a community sand bag filling area and then look for assets outside the community to come in and help us fill sand bags en masse."

Residents in the area who monitor the river's levels each spring tell CTV News the river normally sits at 106-metres above sea level. Residents are getting current readings of 107.5-metres above sea level. They say levels of 108-metres were recorded during the 2017 floods.

"It's a modest level of concern. By comparison it's not the highest level but we're certainly aware of it," says Whitewater Region resident Kevin Abrams.

Abrams lives in a community near Westmeath, and battled through the flooding in 2017 and 2019.

Currently the roadway at the end of his driveway is covered by six inches of water. In 2019, he says that level reached eight feet.

"Obviously it doesn't look to be as bad as we've experienced in the past," he says. "But it's an unpleasant time of year for sure."

Nicholson advises residents to ensure their sump pumps are in working order and to move or tie down any items that may be damaged or swept away by floodwaters.

Having weathered worse storms, Abrams says sandbagging is their last line of defence.

"I don't think we're going to necessarily do any sandbagging this week. I think we'll see how the water looks and if it gets to the point where we have to, we will."