Waterfront residents in Cumberland brace for flooding

Residents near Bois and Leo lanes in Ottawa's east endare busy filling sandbags and operating sump pumps for the third time in sevenyearsasthe Ottawa River once againfloods the area.

One of the snowiest winters on record in Ottawa contributed to flooding along that river that started last month. Water levels aresurging again during a very rainy week.

In Cumberland, located about 30 kilometres east of downtown Ottawa, longtime resident GlenRoberts is no stranger to flooding.

"It's been tough to stay centred. I can't lose it.I can't get upset because it doesn't help me, and my health is not as it was in the previous 2017 and 2019 [floods]," Roberts said.

Water levels east of Cumberland Villageare expected to riseby about 30 centimetres abovecurrent levels, according to a local conservation authority update Tuesday.

These levels are expected to exceed the April 22peakby about 60 centimetres.

According to thelatestOttawa River Regulation Planning Board updateTuesday afternoon, waterlevels fromMattawa,Ont.,toChats Lake west of Arnprior, Ont.,should peak by Wednesday or Thursdayand from LacDeschnesin Ottawa's Britannia areato Hawkesbury, Ont., by Thursday or Friday.

Water levels range from 90 to 193 centimetres above the daily average from Pembroke, Ont., to Grenville, Que, according to the board's latest updates.

Water has risen past the 2017 peak in Pembroke and are forecast by the board to pass that year's peak at Lac Coulonge, bordering Mansfield-et-Pontefract, Que., and Ontario's Whitewater Region. They're not forecast to pass 2017 elsewhere.

The peaks are expected to remain about 40to 70 centimetres below the historic high water marksalong parts ofthe Ottawa River in 2019.

A Tuesday memo from Beth Gooding,director of the City of Ottawa's public safety service, assured city councillors that impactson the city will be relatively small.

Gooding estimated that about 130 private properties have implemented flood mitigation measures such as sandbags, of which the majority are located in West Carleton on the other side of the city from Cumberland.

The city has not seen a significant increase in demand for its sand and empty sandbags, Gooding said.

"At this time, we have observed minor impacts to roads and some parks, but nothing impacting critical infrastructure related to flood waters," she wrote.

Bridge, ferries closed

That note did come before Public Services and Procurement Canada announced it was fully closing theChaudireBridge to vehicles and pedestrians until further notice because of the high water level.

Vehicle traffic was already significantly restricted because of construction and the end of that construction has been pushed back.

The ferries betweenAlfred and Plantagenet, Ont.,and Montebello, Que., Thurso, Que., and Clarence-Rockland, Ont., and Cumberland and Masson-Angers in Gatineauare closed until further notice.

The ferry between Quyonin the Pontiac, Que., and rural west Ottawa is open.

The City of Gatineau set up a relief centre for flood victimsat theJean-Ren-Monettecommunity centre at 89 rue Jean-Ren-Monettein Lac-Beauchamp, according to a news release from the city. It's open 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Residents in flooded areas are asked toregister with the city for wellness checks using 311or go to that support centre. The city has a hub for sandbag locations, road closures and other flood information.

Those road closures include both the eastbound on- and off-ramps from Highway 50 to rue Saint-Louis, as well as Saint-Louis in that area.

MRC de Pontiac sent aTuesday afternoon news release for L'Isle-aux-Allumettes,ChichesterandSheenboroabout several private roads being closed and sandbags at the municipal garage at Demers-Centre at 450 chemin du Rang 5.

Volunteers are needed there, it said, asking them to show up starting Wednesday at 8 a.m.

There are no other local flood warnings off the Ottawa River. The monitoring board for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River is, for the first time this spring, saying vulnerable areas may flood because of recent heavy rain.