The City of Clarence Rockland wants the federal government to commission a third-party study on the management of water in the Ottawa River.
On July 12, city council unanimously adopted a motion introduced by Mayor Mario Zanth petitioning the Federal Minister of Public Safety to order a third-party study of the Ottawa River, its tributaries, and basins in order to provide the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board (ORRPB) better tools to adapt the river to the influence of climate change and from the impact of development.
The ORRPB is an agency composed of seven members representing Ontario, Québec, and the federal government. The federal representatives are from Environment and Climate Change Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and the Canadian Coast Guard. The Ontario representatives are from the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources, and Forestry, and Ontario Power Generation. The Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques and Hydro-Québec are the Québec ORRPB representatives. The ORRPB oversees the management of principal reservoirs on the Ottawa River and its tributaries. Within the ORRPB, the Ottawa River Regulating Committee determines water management strategies, and the Ottawa River Regulation Secretariat supports the work of the planning board and the committee.
As the motion was introduced by Zanth on July 12, he temporarily allowed Ward 7 Councillor Trevor Stewart to act as chair of the council meeting and to read the motion.
The motion highlights how there have been unstable spring freshets—or runoffs due to snowmelt, during the last seven years. The motion attributes the instability to management challenges resulting from climate change and development within the Ottawa River basin. The motion also highlights how major flooding occurred along the Ottawa River in 2017, 2019, and 2023, impacting numerous residents and municipalities alike. Residential areas of Clarence-Rockland, Alfred and Plantagenet, and Champlain were significantly affected by flooding during each of those years. Properties in municipalities along the Québec side of the Ottawa River were also affected.
“And whereas municipalities along the Ottawa River are concerned with the freshet period and inability to manage the river impacts residents and municipalities, and whereas comprehensive study must be undertaken to develop the appropriate management tools and practices to reduce the occurrences of flooding of the Ottawa River,” reads the motion.
The motion also calls for the establishment of a cross-border consultation board representing municipalities on both sides of the river to oversee the scope of work in the third-party study and to provide input into proposed implementation options.
There was no discussion before Clarence-Rockland council unanimously adopted Zanth’s motion on July 12. The motion was seconded by Ward 1 Councillor Kyle Cyr.
The Clarence-Rockland motion petitioning the federal Minister of Public Safety for a third-party study on the management of water resources in the Ottawa River has also been circulated to all municipalities on both sides of the Ottawa River and support is being sought from the councils of those municipalities. On Tuesday, August 8, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge council unanimously supported the Clarence-Rockland motion without any discussion.
