Snow pack below normal as city monitors Ottawa, Rideau rivers ahead of flooding season

The City of Ottawa says it is monitoring the spring melt, but there is no indication of any major river flooding in the immediate future.

The city's spring freshet task force was established after the 2017 floods and monitors water levels on the Ottawa and Rideau rivers each spring.

This year's season was unusual, public works manager Alain Gonthier said in a memo to city council, because of unseasonably high temperatures and low snowfall totals.

"Currently, the snowpack across the larger Ottawa River catchment area and in Ottawa is reported as being below average," Gonthier wrote. "There is no major river flooding in the forecast right now, however, it is premature to predict water levels through to the end of the typical freshet return period."

The Ottawa River Regulation and Planning Board says flows and levels along the main stem of the Ottawa River are close to seasonal values for this time of year, and are expected to increase in most locations over the coming week. There are special weather statements along the Ottawa River warning of 20 to 40 millimetres of rain this weekend.

Gonthier said the situation on the Rideau River was something the city has never seen before.

"For the first time, there was no need to blast the ice, nor a requirement to deploy the amphibious excavator because the river is flowing with isolated sections of ice remaining along the shoreline," he wrote.

The mean temperature in Ottawa in both January and February was about four degrees higher than normal, according to Environment Canada. While Ottawa saw a typical amount of snow in January, it saw just 15 centimetres of snow in February, well below the average of 43 cm. 

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