Ottawa River level

The live level and flow of the Ottawa River at Britannia from the federal gauge, how today compares with the past month, and the official flood-forecast and warning channels.

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Worth knowing

The 2019 and 2017 floods

In spring 2019 the Ottawa River reached its highest level on record through the city, cresting around 2 May; at Britannia it peaked at 60.70 m — 34 cm above the 2017 high of 60.44 m. The City of Ottawa declared a state of emergency from 25 April to 12 June 2019. Constance Bay, West Carleton and Cumberland were hit hardest, while Britannia's berm largely held. Ontario's independent review rated 2019 a roughly one-in-100-year flood — and 2017, just two years earlier, was nearly as large.

Why the level is a number in the 50s

The reading is the river's surface height in metres above sea level — a geodetic elevation, not its depth. At Britannia the water normally sits near 58 m; the 2019 flood crested at 60.70 m. What matters day to day is how the level is moving and how it compares with recent days and past floods — which is what this page shows.

Dams help, but can't stop a big flood

More than 50 dams and 13 reservoirs upstream are coordinated to even out the Ottawa River's flow and take the edge off floods. But around 60% of the river's basin has no storage, so in a wet spring the system can soften a flood — not prevent it. That is what 2017 and 2019 showed.