May 2, 2019 – Volume 33, No. 25
Next edition May 16
L’édition de cette semaine à l’intérieur...
Déja vu all over again
A volunteer surveys the situation in the backyard of one of the houses on Leo Lane locked in a pitched battle against the rising waters of the Ottawa River. FRED SHERWIN PHOTO
By Fred Sherwin The Orléans Star Residents living on Leo Lane near Cumberland Village have been embroiled in an ongoing battle against the Ottawa River for the past two weeks with mixed results. Four of the homeowners have been able to hold their own against the rising water thanks to a small army of dedicated volunteers, but for two others, the help came too late and their houses are now semi-submerged under four feet of water. For at least three houses on Leo Lane, a coffer dam purchased after the 2017 flood seems to be doing the trick in holding the water back along with hundreds of sandbags filled and put in place by the volunteers and members of the Armed Forces brought in from CFB Petawawa to help out with the effort in Cumberland and West Carleton. Besides the rising water, the residents are now having to cope without the benefit of electricity after Hydro One cut off power to the area and nearby Morin Road on Monday.
The power had to be shut off and the residents evacuated during the 2017 flood forcing many of the residents to leave. This time around, many of those same residents are vowing to stay put no matter what. They’ve stocked up on food and water and have purchased generators to keep the lights on and their appliances running. One of those residents is Mike Potvin who spent over $300,000 on renovations after the 2017 flood destroyed his cinder block foundation. He has since raised the ground floor of his house nearly eight feet. It is now an island. “We’re not going anywhere. We have a generator, plenty of fuel and enough food to last us a week,” says Potvin. That same sentiment is being echoed by several of his neighbours. Dan and Sahodra Larivée were talked into evacuating their Leo Lane bungalow in 2017 after being told that emergency service workers would keep their pumps operating. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2