News

July 25, 2017

Record Rains Cause High Waters Again in Rideau River Watershed

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…

Published in 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…

Published in 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…

Published in Media Release

July 14, 2017

Rain Causing Higher Water Levels in Rideau River Watershed

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…

Published in Watershed Conditions Statements

July 04, 2017

How Healthy is the Jock River? RVCA Reports on State of the Jock River Subwatershed

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…

Published in 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…

Published in Watershed Conditions Statements