Britannia surpasses water levels seen in 2017

Volunteers and residents inBritannia workedto shore up a berm protecting hundreds of homes, as rising floodwatersbrokerecord highs on Sunday.

The water is expected to rise another 39centimetres in Britannia before peaking on Tuesday,according toOttawa River Regulating Committee.

During the 2017 floods, water levels in the neighbourhood hit 60.44 metres above sea level bySunday afternoon, levels had risen to 60.46 metres.

The City of Ottawa built a berm around the community of Britannia Village three years ago, said Bay ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh.

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Volunteers and residents say city engineers are worried that the waves and water could start eroding the soil within the berm, causing the neighbourhood's only protection to slide into the Ottawa River.

If the berm fails, around 130 homes could be under several feet of water, Kavanagh said.

Jacquie Larson has lived in Britannia for a little over a year in a house is about 20 metres away from the berm.

"They're concerned that the water will disintegrate the berm itself and cause it to sag into the water and allow the water to flood through Britannia Village," she said."So we're just working as fast and hard as we can to keep it stable."

Residents in Britannia work against rising water

5 years ago

Duration 0:47

Coun. Theresa Kavanagh says the city will have to build better infrastructure if serious floods keep happening.

David Ker, whose home is also near the water, said seeing the community come together has been heartwarming.

But the threat of having to leave his home is one that still hangs over him, he said.

"The evacuation, that's what is scary. We love this sector, we want to be here and we want to make sure we can fight this flooding as best we can."

The berm wasbuilt to withstand a one-in-100-year flood, Kavanagh said, an event the neighbourhood is now seeing for the second time in two years.

"If this keeps occurring every couple of years or every year, we have to build better infrastructure," she said. "What are we going to do to not just prepare but hopefully prevent thesesituations."