End of Daily River Conditions Forecast and 4-day Forecast

Bulletins posted on 2023-05-18 by Ottawa River Regulation Secretariat

The Ottawa River Regulation Secretariat would like to inform residents of the Ottawa River Basin that today, May 18, will be the final 4-day forecast for spring freshet 2023.  Accordingly, the ‘Forecasts’ web page will be deactivated on May 22, following the expiry of this final forecast period.  Additionally, today will be the last daily ‘River Conditions Forecast’ message for the 2023 spring freshet period.  This message, which describes current and forecast river conditions, will be replaced with a weekly update every Tuesday.

Now that the snow in the northern part of the basin has all melted, levels are below the minor flooding threshold in all locations along the main stem of the Ottawa River, and no significant precipitation is in the forecast, daily forecasting of river conditions is no longer required.  The general trend, for the full length of the river, is for a steady decrease in flows and levels as the spring runoff continues to decline across the watershed. While leaves and vegetation are not yet fully developed in the northern part of the basin, significant flow increases from the north to downstream areas are very unlikely over the next month. Principal reservoirs, which have stored a lot of spring runoff over the last few weeks to reduce flooding impacts in downstream areas, are being managed to target summer levels.

If conditions change and flood risks increase, the daily forecasting and messaging of river conditions will resume.