Spring is almost upon us – but for some, this season is an inevitable reminder of the terrible floods last year.
Hydro Quebec has been monitoring snowfall and is already draining reservoirs to reduce the risks.
The generating station at the Carillion dam in Saint-Andre-D’Argenteuil sits on the Ottawa River. Most of the water that passed through here last spring flooded towns like Rigaud.
During that time, more than five thousand cubic meters of water came through the power plant per second. Because there’s no reservoir there – it’s difficult to hold back the water.
“If we decide to close the gates after one hour, the water is going to rise too rapidly, and we need to reopen the gates,” explained Hydro-Quebec engineer Pierre-Marc Rondeau. “It’s not built to keep water from getting to Montreal.”
“When heavy rain is falling down like last year, at a moment when snow was still on the ground. All that water went in the rivers at the same time. We cannot do miracles, unfortunately,” he said.
The good news is, based on the amount of snow fall, Hydro-Quebec expects this year to go more smoothly than last.
What helped a lot last year, Rondeau explained, is that dams with reservoirs helped keep the waters lower downstream. Without the reservoirs, the water level in Montreal would be at least one meter higher.
But it’s unlikely that a reservoir could ever be built at the Carillion location – Southern Quebec is mostly occupied by houses, according to Rondeau, so reservoirs cannot be constructed in the middle of an existing town.
For now, as temperatures start to rise, Hydro Quebec will continue to keep a watchful eye on the water levels.
