Parks Canada re-opened the Rideau canal

PHOTO COURTESY François Gagnon
After eight days nailed to wait for the opening of the locks of the Rideau canal, a fifty boats were able to go to Kingston on Tuesday morning.

Christopher Nardi

Tuesday, 1 August 2017 20:48

UPDATE
Tuesday, 1 August 2017 20:48

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OTTAWA | After eight days of waiting ” endless “, Parks Canada has finally reopened on Tuesday, all the locks on the Rideau canal that trap more than fifty boats. A situation “without precedent” that has taken the federal ministry by surprise.

“It is sure that it is happy, but the experience was still very bad, and our holidays are downright wasted. Parks Canada, never let people into nothingness like that “, has launched Maxime Guillemette.

“The problem was that they gave us always the hope that the locks were open the next day, but it was never true. If we had known the true wait time, one would have to turn back or choose a different route, ” added Isabella Nadeau.

Expenses

They were part of a hundred vacationers in recreational boats that have remained caught in the locks of the Rideau canal near Kingston, Ontario, from July 24 last, as The Newspaper reported Tuesday.

In total, fifty boaters in Quebec were caught in this situation, unable to pursue their navigation.

Many of them have even had to miss work or expend unplanned to tie up at a marina.

Prevention

In order to avoid flooding, Parks Canada announced the zipper almost all of the 28 sites of the locks that it controls along the Rideau canal as a result of major rains which have quickly upped the levels and flows of water in the channel.

The federal department had begun to open the floodgates gradually over the last week, but the last three remained closed until Tuesday morning.

From the outset, the deputy director of the waterway, Ontario, admits that the organization has failed communication with the vacationers and the situation would repeat itself not.

However, he quickly added that the quantity “mass” of rain received last week has created a situation “without precedent,” where the levels and flows of water have jumped excessively.

Rain

For example, the Ottawa region has received not less than 80 mm of rainfall in 24 hours.

Result : this is the first time that the department is forced to close the Rideau canal to the full in the middle of the summer.

“We have never seen so much rain during this season, and the problem has been worsened by the fact that the summer is very rainy to-date. Of memory, never the channel has been closed in full July when there are so many boats which can navigate it. It was extremely complex situation “, says John Festarini, the deputy director of the waterway in Ontario.

He added that holidaymakers who had spent money unexpected because of the closures were encouraged to contact Parks Canada.