News
September 11, 2017
Mississippi-Rideau Staff Meet with Local Businesses Owners
MISSISSIPPI-RIDEAU REGION, September 11, 2017 — Staff from the Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Region (MRSPR) successfully met with 61 business owners in the communities of Westport, Montague, North Grenville and Mississippi Mills this summer to discuss chemical products that could pose a risk to four municipal drinking water systems. Business owners were welcoming and helpful — allowing staff to better understand the chemicals that are being used in wellhead protection areas. MRSPR staff completed this work on behalf of the local municipalities who are striving to meet the requirements of the Ontario Clean Water Act. These outreach projects promote the long-term…
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Media Release
CITY OF OTTAWA AND MUNICIPALITY OF NORTH GRENVILLE, August 21, 2017 — Members of the public are invited to an upcoming open house to review hazard maps. The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) has completed two hazard mapping studies for the Rideau River: Hogs Back to Kars and Kars to Burritts Rapids. These studies update existing mapping in some areas and new mapping in others. Both Rideau River studies look at identifying two main types of hazards along these stretches of the watercourse: flooding and slope stability. The mapping will be used by the City of Ottawa and the Municipality…
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Media Release
August 10, 2017
Dollars Available to Plant Trees — Free Site Visits
Money is available to landowners interested in planting trees. The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority offers private landowners tree planting programs that help them get technical advice, planting plans and funding for trees. “We have numerous community-minded partners providing funding to projects to help reduce landowner costs,” says Scott Danford, RVCA Forestry Program Manager. “We offer planting programs that make it easy and affordable for landowners.” To be eligible, landowners need at least one acre of land and are willing to plant a minimum of 500 trees. If you have the space, RVCA can help get trees growing on your land…
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Media Release
August 09, 2017
Wet Weather in Most of the Rideau Watershed but Record Rain and Flooding in North Gower
On January 17, 2017 the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority downgraded the Drought status in the watershed from “Moderate,” which had been carried over from a dry year in 2016, to “Minor.” The “Minor” status was kept in place because of uncertainty about groundwater conditions that couldn’t be checked until spring. The “Minor” status was removed on April 19 after three months of above normal precipitation that went a long way to recharging groundwater aquifers. Since February, rainfall totals each month have been an average of 1.65 times normal. It is not unusual for there to be above normal amounts of…
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Media Release
With relatively minor rain forecast for the coming week and the flood waters in decline, the RVCA is withdrawing the Flood Watch that has been in effect for the last week. Water levels are still above normal but continuing to decline. The 3-day rainfall of 35 millimetres presently forecast for Wednesday through Friday in eastern Ontario is expected to cause a pause in the decline. Periods of heavier, localized rain may fall in thunderstorms but no significant impact is expected at this time. Waters have receded from the North Gower area where serious flooding along Stevens Creek occurred last week.…
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Watershed Conditions Statements
Ottawa South residents and guests can enjoy the soothing sights and sounds of nature along the newly upgraded Chapman Mills Conservation Area trails and boardwalk. Dignitaries and special guests gathered at the site today to celebrate and help with the installation of the final pieces of wooden boardwalk. Owned by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA), Chapman Mills is an exceptional example of conservation parkland with river shoreline, wetland and flood plain areas that are unique and vital to our local community. “Chapman Mills is one of Ottawa’s most ecologically significant natural areas,” said Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) Chair…
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Media Release
July 26, 2017
Floodwaters Receding Slowly
As Stevens Creek levels slowly decline, residents of North Gower continue to deal with water in basements and on streets as a result of record setting rainfall. On the Rideau, minor flooding of low-lying areas on the Long Reach have access issues similar to what often occurs in the spring. Parks Canada staff are doing strategic dam operations to get water levels down throughout the Canal system with as little impact as possible. With high flows passing through the dams, boaters are advised to stay well away. Also with high waters, boat wake becomes a problem causing damage to shorelines.…
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Watershed Conditions Statements
Flooding has occurred in areas of the Rideau Watershed as a result of rains that were closer to monthly totals than daily amounts. The community of North Gower has had floodwaters in some homes and in the streets near Stevens Creek. Low-lying areas along the Rideau and its tributaries have also been flooded but no residential flooding has been reported or is expected in those areas at this time. A weather system moving into eastern Ontario Wednesday night may bring more rain in thunder storms. What impact these storms will have will depend on timing, intensity and size. The decline…
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Watershed Conditions Statements
July 24, 2017
Heavy Rains Forecast in Rideau River Watershed
Heavy rains forecast for Monday into Tuesday could cause rapid increases in water levels in small streams and raise rivers and lakes to above normal levels. The Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) has issued a Rainfall Warning that says “A slow moving upper disturbance over Lake Huron is expected to generate significant rainfall amounts over much of Eastern Ontario”. As much as 100 millimetres (mm) of rain is possible over a wide area. A few days without rain provided some capacity for infiltration of the rain into the soil but that storage has been filled with water levels already on…
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Watershed Conditions Statements
July 18, 2017
RVCA City Stream Watch Volunteers Celebrated
OTTAWA, July 19, 2017 — Six of Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s (RVCA) biggest City Stream Watch volunteers were recognized in June with the presentation of Ontario Volunteer Service Awards. The Ontario Volunteer Service Awards recognize volunteers for providing committed and dedicated service to an organization. Congratulations to Sidney Arnold, Rebecca Cameron, Bruce Douglas Clarke, Francois Yvon Deslauriers, Peter Melvin and Peter Stewart-Burton. These six representatives regularly give their time to monitor and restore the health of Ottawa’s city streams through the City Stream Watch Program. “We are grateful for their time and devotion to the program,” says Rosario Castanon Escobar, City…
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Media Release
Above normal rain has received plenty of attention over recent weeks with close to a normal month worth of rain having fallen at several monitoring locations in the Rideau watershed in half the month of July. Most extreme is at the Ottawa Airport where 109 millimetres (mm) has fallen to date where 92 mm is the 30 year historical average. Normal precipitation on the watershed to mid-July is about 504 mm. This year, an average of 729 mm has been recorded. After relatively high spring levels in April on Rideau watershed streams and lakes, rainfall has continued to keep levels…
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Watershed Conditions Statements
How healthy is the Jock River? Readers can learn all about it in the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s (RVCA) Jock River Subwatershed Report. This information-loaded report summarizes the subwatershed’s health by looking at four indicators: forests, wetlands, shorelines and water quality. This is the second subwatershed report for the Jock River and compares baseline information collected from 2004 to 2015. Changes are small, but understanding how to prevent cumulative long-term changes is essential. The Jock River starts in the lush headwater wetlands in Beckwith and Montague Townships near Franktown. It then flows on through rich agricultural lands in the former municipalities of…
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Media Release
July 02, 2017
Rain Causing High Flows on Tributary Streams
Heavy rain that has fallen on the Rideau River watershed over the last week has caused some smaller streams to overtop their banks.Rainfall on July 1 was varied over the watershed with 42 millimetres measured at the Ottawa Airport, 31 mm at Franktown in the upper Jock River watershed but less than 10 mm in Kemptville and Westport.Flooding is not expected on the Rideau or the major tributaries, Tay and Jock Rivers and Kemptville Creek. However, safety is an issue around smaller streams that have fast flows with wet and muddy banks, for example, Stevens and Sawmill Creek. Parents need…
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Watershed Conditions Statements
The Mississippi-Rideau Drinking Water Source Protection (MRDWSP) staff will be meeting with land and business owners this summer in the communities of Almonte, Kemptville, Merrickville, Montague, Smiths Falls and Westport who may be using chemicals that could pose a risk to the municipal drinking water systems.The Mississippi-Rideau Drinking Water Source Protection (MRDWSP) staff will be meeting with land and business owners this summer in the communities of Almonte, Kemptville, Merrickville, Montague, Smiths Falls and Westport who may be using chemicals that could pose a risk to the municipal drinking water systems. This work is being done by MRDWSP staff on…
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Media Release
June 20, 2017
RVCA Plants Over 275,000 Trees This Spring!
The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) is excited to announce that over 275,000 trees were planted this spring. RVCA and partners are well on the way to planting 6.5 million trees by 2020! RVCA’s private landowner tree planting program available throughout eastern Ontario, is the perfect way to get the direction, planting plan and any available incentive funding for reforesting projects. In cases where landowners plant over 2,000 trees, RVCA works with a number of partners (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, City of Ottawa, Forests Ontario and local business) to keep costs as low as $0.15 per tree. Landowners…
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