In general, the impacts of Debby’s rainfall Friday were minor across the capital with some exceptions, says the City of Ottawa.
There is significant damage to some roads in the west, as West Carleton and Kanata experienced some flooded roads/intersections, according to a letter that was sent to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and members of council on behalf of Beth Gooding, director of Public Safety Service.
“In some areas, the damage is severe. For example, we have some culverts washed out and some partial road collapses. Public Works Department (PWD) and Infrastructure and Water Services Department (IWSD) are working together and will begin assessing damage to roads to determine what repairs are required,” reads the statement.
Drivers in Ottawa are encouraged to check the city’s interactive traffic map for updates before hitting the roads this weekend.
A small number of basement flooding calls were reported Friday. IWSD “ensured the continuous operation of critical water and wastewater infrastructure throughout the event,” says Gooding.
Firefighters say they responded to more than 20 calls for flooded basements Friday.
Meanwhile, some residential properties in West Carleton needed electrical safety checks by the Ottawa Fire Services. Firefighters also cleared culverts in the area, reads the statement.
Residents are asked to report any issues through 3-1-1.
Sportsfields, parks closed
The city says on its website sportsfields, ball diamonds and parks were impacted and closed Friday.
While parks and sportsfields are scheduled to reopen Saturday, ball diamonds will remain closed until Sunday “to allow the infields to dry out from significant water ponding.”
“Please refrain from using affected spaces until they have dried sufficiently,” reads the city’s website.
More information about city programs and services are available online.
Swimming is not recommended at three of the four City of Ottawa-run beaches due to Friday’s heavy rainfalls. Britannia beach is open as of Saturday.
Friday’s heavy rain forced the closure of Gatineau Park. In a post on X, the park said the shuttle service has been cancelled this weekend, noting that “the parkway network is closed to all visitors until further notice.”
The post adds that due to the heavy rain, the following parking lots have also been closed: P10, Dunlop, P11, P12, P13.
Gatineau’s O’Brien and Blanchet beaches are also closed for safety reasons.
“We’ll provide more updates as soon as we can,” Gatineau Park said in a post on X.
A low pressure system interacting with the remnants of tropical storm Debby brought heavy rainfall Friday for Ottawa-Gatineau and eastern Ontario, Environment Canada said. A rainfall warning was in effect for most of the day, ending just before 6:20 p.m. as the worst of the system moved out of the Ottawa area.
Environment Canada said the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa’s west end had seen 75.8 mm of rain. Gatineau, Que. saw a total of 83 mm.
According to Environment Canada, a total of 45.5 mm was recorded at the Ottawa Airport, breaking the record for Aug. 9. The previous record for the same day was 41.4 mm, set in 1959.
Volunteers reported 90.9 mm of rain in Kanata Lakes, 101.6 mm in Cornwall, 99.8 mm in Mississippi Mills, 118.1 mm in East Hawkesbury, 121.7 mm in Alexandria, 115.8 mm in Kinburn and 128.3 mm in Summerstown.