NOTEBOOK: Monday evening update – May 23, 7:45pm

by | May 23, 2022 | Information

NOTEBOOK: Monday evening update – May 23, 7:45pm

**Please share this email and information with your friends and neighbours in the community.**

Power is still out at my house and at thousands of homes in Stittsville. I’m at CARDELREC tonight, where hundreds of people have stopped in today to the emergency centre here. You can plug in your phone, find a fridge for prescriptions that need to stay cold, grab a shower, and find refreshments, snacks, and food. City staff, the Red Cross, and the Salvation Army are helping out. It will be open again on Tuesday from 10am-10pm at 1500 Shea Road, with access from Abbott.

Today I visited several neighbourhoods affected by the storm. At homes on Woodhurst there are broken windows and extensive damage to roofs and siding. On other streets there are trees leaning on homes, branches line the curb, and there are still power lines down on Stittsville Main Street. This will be a while to clean-up.

Here are some key pieces of information:

The City is doing a “green bin blitz” on TUESDAY in Stittsville to ensure organic waste is collected as soon as possible. Many who lost power will need to dispose of food that has spoiled. This will be IN ADDITION to your regular pick-up later this week. (And remember, this week’s regular collection is delayed by a day due to the holiday this week.) Collection will take time, so if your green bin is not collected by day’s end, it is recommended to take it in and put it back out at the curb the following morning.

Only organic materials are permitted and any non-organic materials, such as food packaging, should be disposed of separately. The City will also continue with regular garbage and recycling collection, and residents can set out organic waste weekly in their green bin, according to the collection calendar.

Anticipating increased need for disposing of spoiled food, the City is also setting up several sites where residents will have ongoing access to organic waste dumpsters. There’s a large bin set up now at CARDELREC at 1500 Shea Road.

The City’s landfill at the Trail Waste Facility (4475 Trail Road) is also offering extended hours to accommodate special collections and will waive tipping fees for residents with storm-related materials to support residents with their disposal needs.

City crews are also working to remove tree branches and yard waste, but it will take several weeks before the cleanup is finished. If such debris is small enough, residents should bring it to curb for collection, provided it does not impede the roadway or pedestrian access.

The power situation
Hydro Ottawa says it could be 2-4 days before all homes and businesses are reconnected, and we do not have schedules for specific neighbourhoods at this time.  For hydro information, consult the Hydro Ottawa website or its Twitter account. For updates on the City’s response, follow the City on Twitter and check ottawa.ca for updates.

There are more streets and neighbourhoods with power now than there were 24 hours ago. That’s good.  My team has been tracking which streets are back on using a map in my office. Here’s what that looks like as of about 7:15pm this evening.  Streets with power are indicated in blue.

Open & closed

  • All schools will remain closed for Tuesday, May 24.
  • Western Ottawa Resource Centre (2 MacNeil Court) will re-open for regular programming and drop-in support
  • CARDELREC’s regular programming is on pause while the facility is in use as an emergency centre.
  • The Stittsville library is closed
  • If your Stittsville business is open with food or emergency supplies, please let us know so we can share with the community.

Please let me know what assistance you require. My job is to understand what our community needs are right now, and to connect residents with City services that can help. The best way to reach me and my team is by email at glen.gower@ottawa.ca or by phone at 613-580-2476 (please leave a message if we cannot answer).

I know that communication is still a challenge. We are providing updates in a number of ways:

Stay safe, and take care.
-Councillor Glen