Flood Watch: Ottawa River Expected To Rise This Week To Levels Similar to Spring of 2023
- Clarke Kelly
- Apr 27
- 3 min read
April 27, 2025 Update #3
Flood Watch Statement From Councillor Kelly
With the water expected to continue to rise until Tuesday it was another busy day of flood preparation, filling sandbags and delivering them to people and areas in need.
We definitely saw an uptick in people coming to load up on bags as well as taking from the piles that have been strategically placed.
Thanks again to Team Rubicon for supporting the efforts as well as David Hill - Councillor - Ward 3 Barrhaven West for spending a few hours with us today filling sandbags. I would also like to recognize and sincerely thank Ken White Construction for not only lending equipment, but also employees to load bags and drop them off to those who requested them.
I remain cautious and continue to monitor forecasts from the ORPB (OttawaRiver.ca) and I would encourage residents along the Ottawa River to do the same until we are confident in what is coming in the days ahead.
Weather always plays a big role and right now I think it’s cooperating a little better than we had expected although we know from the past that change quickly. We aren’t out of the water yet, but we are prepared.
April 27, 2025 Update #2
Flood Watch Statement From Councillor Kelly
Today was a busy day in Ward 5 as I, along with City staff and West Carleton Disaster Relief, spent all day assessing the situation and preparing a plan for the days ahead as the water continues to rise along the Ottawa River.
The sandbag machine has arrived from Toronto and is already in use and members of Team Rubicon (an NGO the City of Ottawa has a relationship with) are busy filling bags. Today, we distributed 6,000 filled sandbags to locations close to areas that have flooded historically.
If you were affected in the 2023 floods you should be paying close attention to the updates from the ORPB and monitoring levels and should consider taking action to protect your property. If you need assistance or have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to Clarke.Kelly@ottawa.ca.
There are more details in our first update below. Any questions, contact me at Clarke.Kelly@ottawa.ca. To request assistance or volunteer to help, contact West Carleton Disaster Relief through their website at westcarletonrelief.ca
April 27, 2025: Images from Saturday's meetings and sandbagging efforts. Special thanks to Beth Gooding, the City's Director of Public Safety Service for joining us to survey the current situation and attend our meeting at the Community Centre.
April 26, 2025 Update #1
Flood Watch Statement From Councillor Kelly:
I know that this is the last thing anyone wants to hear right now, but the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board updated their flood forecast last evening and people need to pay attention. It looks like by Tuesday we will see levels on the Ottawa River that will be similar to the first peak we experienced in spring of 2023.
During that peak, there were homes in Constance Bay, Dunrobin Shores, Willola Beach, and Vydon Acres affected. If you were affected during the first peak in April 2023, you should be taking time this weekend to prepare.
The City of Ottawa is deploying resources, and you will see a lot of activity over the coming days. We have also obtained assistance from the province and an NGO, who are bringing a sandbag filling machine from Toronto. It will arrive in Constance Bay later today. I am meeting with City staff this morning and will provide further updates shortly. They will be posted on this site and on our social media.
You can read the full updates as they come in from the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board here: https://ottawariver.ca/. The ORRPB indicates their next update is expected Sunday at 4pm.
Get more info on sandbag locations and preparing your home at this link.
