Ottawa River flooding a 'natural disaster' and not mismanagement, regulator says

Devastating flooding that's destroyed and damaged homesalong a huge stretch of the Ottawa River is a "natural disaster" and not causedby hydroelectric companies mismanagingthe dams, insiststhe agency that overseesthe river.

Some 4,000 people have joined a Facebook groupcalling for an "independent public inquiry" into possible dam mismanagement during the second major flood on the river in two years.

In the Outaouaiscommunity of Mansfield-et-Pontefract, Que., council haspassed a motioncalling for an inquiry intowhether reservoirs and dams along the Ottawa River are being used properly to prevent flooding.

On social media, the flash pointfocuseson the Ottawa River at the town of DeuxRivires, Ont.,which is upstream fromthe Des Joachims generating dam, 200 kilometres northwest of Ottawa.

'They made mistakes'

Photos have been shared hundreds of timesshowing dry river banks and a seemingly low river level. The images haveoutraged people whose homes and cottages downstreamare submerged includingSue Samson.

Samsonowns acottage on L'Isle-aux-Allumettes, andadded her name to the petition because her dwelling is surrounded by water and only accessible by boat.

Her sister-in-law's cottage has also come loosefrom its supports, and one end is now tilted over into the cottage next door.

When the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board (ORRPB) explained why the water level is being kept low upstream from the dam, however, she said she didn't believe it.

"I think it's mismanagement by dam operators and the ORRPB. They made mistakes," Samsonsaid. "Theyshould be able to compensate for all that snow and rain."

Protecting Mattawa

Manon Lalonde, executive engineer with the Ottawa River Regulation Secretariat,acknowledgedthe water level is low at Deux Riviresand for many kilometres upstream, butsaid that'snecessary to control flooding elsewhere.

The Des Joachims dam, she said, is the most southern reservoir in the system and has very little capacity to store rising water thundering down from upstream.

Allowing it to fill would cause water to backup in Mattawa, Ont., where the situation is already bad, Lalonde said.

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"If we raised the water level in the Des Joachimsreservoir, that would increase the flooding upstream in Mattawa, which is already floodedby half a metre," she said.

"There would be such a small benefit for people downstream because it would only reduce the water level by 10 centimetresdownstream and it would only be forthree days, because the reservoir would fill up again."

'Not a dry river'

Lalonde saidphotos taken at Deux-Riviresonly show the wide flat river banks and that the river, which isn't visible in the photos,is flowing at a very high rate.

"It's a perception problem, and not a technical one," she said. "It's not a dry river there."

Ottawa Riverkeeper executive director Patrick Nadeausaid he agrees with that assessment.

"A lot of fingers have been pointed at dam operators, but the water coming down the river is unprecedented," he said. "They are doing what they can."

"There's no easy answer here,It's counter-intuitive," he added."But [what] dam managers are trying to dois balance things out with low water levels in order to try andprotect upstream communities from heavy flooding."

Communication could improve

Nadeau'sgroup has been advocating for an Ottawa River watershed council to look at dam operations during flooding, along withclimate change and land use planning along the waterway.

The council would serve asa hub for getting importantinformation to the 200 municipalities along the waterwayabout their stretch of the river during spring flooding, he said.

"Communication is clearly not where it should be," Nadeau said.

Lalondesaid the ORPPGis aware they have a public relations problem on their hands.

"We need to communicatein better ways with the public," she said, especially concerning the management of the Des Joachims dam.

"We need to do a lot better with videos and go out to more communities throughout the year, but it's a challenge to make it easily understandable."