Independent inquiry desperately needed!

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To understand the 2019 flood, you need to understand how the Ottawa River levels are managed and by whom. The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board manages the principal reservoirs of the Ottawa River Basin.

To understand the 2019 flood, you need to understand how the Ottawa River levels are managed and by whom. The Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board manages the principal reservoirs of the Ottawa River Basin. Its objectives are to provide protection against flooding along the Ottawa River and its tributaries, particularly in the Montréal Region, and at the same time maintain the interests of the various users, particularly for hydro-electric energy production.
The Board consists of seven members from the power companies, federal and provincial governments. There are no watershed residents or municipal
representatives, even though they are majorly impacted by the Board’s work.
In February 2019, the average water level at Pembroke was 111.72 m, slightly higher than the 111.51m average since 1950.  With the high snowfall accumulation during the winter of 2018-19, it would have been prudent to anticipate a higher than normal runoff.  If that had been considered, the river should have been
maintained at a lower level in February. If there had been a pre-emptive reduction in river levels, the peak flooding experienced in the spring might have been reduced.
Given the make-up of the Board, one has to wonder if maintaining water levels
for hydro-electric energy production is a higher priority than flood avoidance. Do provincial and federal public servants feel free to challenge river management
recommendations coming from the dam operators (Hydro Québec and Ontario Power Generation)?
This situation and the explanations provided by the Board beg for an
independent inquiry conducted by a qualified individual, not by the Board or any of its members who have a vested interest in the status quo. To date, the public meetings held by both the Ontario and Québec provincial governments fail that test of independence.

Richard Stead
L’ISLE-AUX-ALLUMETTES