City marks end of 2026 spring freshet

OTTAWA – City staff says the 2026 spring freshet season is now over, and is ending its official response to the issue that often leads to prolonged flooding along West Carleton’s riverfront communities.

“As of Friday, May 29, the Public Works Spring Freshet Task Force is marking the end of the 2026 spring freshet season,” City of Ottawa Public Works Department general manager Alain Gonthier wrote in a memo to council obtained by West Carleton Online today (May 29).

The initial Spring Freshet Task Force is led by the Public Works Department.

“The success of the annual operation is a result of the collaboration between many services,” Gonthier said. “Task Force members include Finance and Corporate Services, Infrastructure and Water Services, Emergency and Protective Services, Ottawa Public Health, Planning, Development and Building Services, Public Information and Media Relations, Service Ottawa, and Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services.”

A rapid snowmelt in early March combined with considerable rainfall resulted in a quick start for operations.

“Coordinated efforts with Infrastructure and Water Services ensured flood vulnerable areas were proactively monitored and protected,” Gonthier said. “Similarly, Roads Services completed the opening of rural ditches and culverts to ensure overland drainage functioned as intended. Despite the early start, the return of cold temperatures and more snow across the larger catchment meant more water was added to the system throughout April and a slower melt. As the City of Ottawa flood risk increased, Flood warnings were issued for our segment of the Ottawa River.”

This season, local water levels along the Ottawa River came close to those observed in 2023, or a 1:20 event; a five per cent chance of occurring in any given year.

The Office of Emergency Management assumed leadership of the freshet operations with ongoing PWD support between April 17 and May 15.

“During this period, the emergency coordination centre arranged for non-governmental organization support from Sauvetage Bénévole Outaouais – Ottawa Volunteer Search and Rescue, St. John Ambulance, and local Team Rubicon members to fill sandbags for residents who may be affected,” Gonthier said. “Public Works began sandbag and asset recovery operations on May 20. These have been substantially completed at this time. Even now, the Ottawa River water levels are on the high side of normal and continue to decline while additional water makes its way from the north. Looking back, the extended snow, slow melt, and limited precipitation helped reduce flooding locally despite this being a year where significant flood thresholds were observed.”

Task force actions taken in 2026:

• Early monitoring of snow, water and forecasts began in January.
• The Freshet Task Force was established on March 6, 2026, and met regularly to plan and initiate actions.
• Task force members met with Ottawa Power Generation, local conservation authorities, National Capital Commission, Parks Canada and community associations as part of annual preparations.
• Ongoing updates were provided to members of council with additional ward-specific communications shared with impacted councillors as conditions progressed.
• Information was updated through the flood page on ottawa.ca, and the city’s 2026 Freshet Facebook page.
• Fifteen sandbag filling stations were deployed at various locations for access by residents.
• Roughly 70,000 sandbags were filled across the city for use. Approximately 50,000 were used by residents on private property at more than 130 properties for temporary flood protection.
• Sandbag filling was accomplished through a combination of community groups, sports team events and resident filling initiatives. Additionally, a sandbag filling event by West Carleton High School resulted in 8,000 sandbags being filled in a single day.
• Staff and non-government organizations also filled sandbags with a new mechanical sandbag filling machine funded through the Strategic Initiatives Department.
• Sandbag filling equipment and filled, unused sandbags have been returned to inventory for use in future freshets.

“Although the 2026 freshet is still front of mind, we are committed to supporting future work with internal and external partners,” Gonthier said. “Each freshet is unique and provides us an opportunity to assess our actions and strategies. We appreciate your continued support.”