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Is there going to be a flood this spring?

March 31, 2026 · 26 min

Show notes

It's time to launch Season 2 of the City of Ottawa’s official podcast and we OttaTalk about the City’s Spring Freshet Taskforce.

What’s a freshet? It’s the annual spring snowmelt and rainfall that flows into rivers and creeks, raising water levels and increasing flood risk. Listen now to find out how the City works to monitor, prepare, inform and respond during the spring freshet.

Today, we’ll talk with Jim Lethbridge, Area Manager for Emergency Planning and Response with the Public Works department. He will discuss how this multi-departmental team helps inform and support residents, how they work with local conservation authorities and the timeframe for peak water levels in the Rideau River watershed and the Ottawa River.

Today's hosts are Tom and Shirley.

Links for this episode are:

This is OttaTalk, the official City of Ottawa podcast series where City staff discuss City programs, projects and initiatives. We’ll cover topics that affect your everyday life. How can we prevent basement flooding? What does By-law do all day? What are we doing to fix homelessness? We have the questions and the answers on OttaTalk.

For now, look forward to a new episode from us each month.

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Tell us what you think about this podcast. We’re always looking for ideas for future episodes. Comment here, on your favourite social media platform or write to us directly at [email protected].

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