(May 6, 2019) The Ottawa River is rising quickly; it has risen more than 30cm (12 inches) since this morning and will continue to rise substantially overnight with the release of water at the Otto Holden Dam. Flooding is expected in the Town of Mattawa and along the lower Mattawa River. The Mayor of Mattawa has declared an emergency.
The dam at Temiscaming is now fully open and more precipitation is expected later in the week. Since April 18 approximately 108mm of precipitation has fallen and 115mm of snow-water equivalence has melted in the North Bay-Mattawa area. An addition 15mm is possible Thursday.
Information about the most current forecast water levels for the Ottawa River may be found at the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board website: http://www.ottawariver.ca/Forecast-2019
The current Ottawa River water level may be viewed at the Water Survey of Canada website (note there is a delay of several hours and 100m should be added to the metres above sea level noted).
Lake Nipissing is currently at elevation 196.34m near North Bay and is continuing to rise. It is forecast to exceed elevation 196.4.0. Lake Nipissing is forecasted to continue to rise until its peaks in approximately 10 days. This may pose a threat to properties along Lake Nipissing shoreline in North Bay and Callander, as well as along the lower La Vase River, particularly if there are strong winds or waves.
The Parks Creek Backflood Control Structure has been operating on red alert and pumping since May 2, to mitigate flooding for 350 homes in the Parks Creek neighbourhood. Information about the current status of Lake Nipissing water levels may be found at the PWGSC website.
This message will be in effect until (or updated before) Thursday, May 9 at 4 pm.
The public is invited to share photos of watershed conditions on social media using #NBMCAFlood.
For daily updates on flood status, visit Spring 2019 Flood Event webpage.
For information on NBMCA Flood Warning Terminology.