The City of Ottawa is waiving its three-item limit for garbage on curbside collection days for three west end wards after a record-breaking Canada Day storm left residents dealing with extensive damage. Starting Monday, residents in Bay, College and Knoxdale-Merivale wards can dispose of storm debris without any item limits.
Scope of the Storm Damage
According to Public Works general manager Alain Gonthier, there are over 3,200 reports of flooded basements across the city. In a memo sent to the mayor and city councillors Friday announcing the changes, Gonthier noted that as part of the city's 'Special Collection' operation, residents in Wards 7, 8 and 9 can also put out two items of construction waste bins starting Monday.
In the aftermath of the historic Canada Day storms and flooding, thousands of Ottawa residents had their basements flooded and were left without power. Ottawa's West End area, including Nepean, experienced the heaviest concentrated rainfall and localized flooding, according to Hydro Ottawa spokesperson Josée Larocque.
Power Outages and Ongoing Recovery
As of Friday, Hydro Ottawa crews were still managing power outages, including in the Bay, College and Kitchissippi wards. Larocque said other wards have also been impacted, including Knoxdale-Merivale. The utility continues to work on restoring electricity to affected areas.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe expressed support for affected families, stating, 'We will continue to assess the situation in the coming days and will adjust as needed. We will do everything we can to support affected families.'
Debris Collection Timeline
Councillor Johnson noted that due to the high volume of requests, collection of storm-related debris may take many weeks. 'With the current volume of requests being received, it is anticipated that collection of storm-related debris may take many weeks,' Johnson said on social media Friday. 'Big thanks to city staff for blowing up their regular operations to make this response happen for the ward's hardest hit.'
Once the initial round is completed, Johnson said the Special Collection operation will continue to collect debris throughout the city based on service requests received by 3-1-1. He urged residents to be considerate, saying, 'Check in on each other. Remember these are just normal people picking up our garbage, so let's not take advantage of this situation too much because we really want it to be related to this storm and show good faith, because … this is wild.'
