MATTAWA — Doreen Hay says as of around 4 p.m. Tuesday, things were normal in Mattawa. Her home sits along Mattawan Street which runs parallel to the Mattawa River near downtown Mattawa.
But that all changed within an hour.
“At just about 4:15 yesterday afternoon there was nothing, by 5 p.m. it was flooded out here,” said Hay, who lives in her home with young foster children.
“My garbage bin on the side over there was floating in water with my recycling stuff.”
Now, the edge of her property is protected by sandbags. Her neighbour across the street has bags piled up literally in front of the front door. She points to an island on the Mattawa river that is completely submerged with only half of the small lighthouse still popping out of the flowing water to indicate where that island was before the rising waters.
On Monday, Mattawa Mayor Dean Backer declared a local state of emergency after being advised that the Otto Holden Dam will be releasing two feet of water over the next 24 hours.
See related: Mattawa declares state of emergency
Hay says her pump is working well, and that the water seems to be going down in front of her Mattawa home. She does not think she is going to have to evacuate yet.
“They have told us we are under evacuation right now,” said Hay.
“Some of the places if you go down by our post office going down that way by the park it is flooded right out right now and they have put sand all the way along and they were out until midnight putting sandbags up.”
Town officials have advised property owners in lower lying areas like Hay’s home, to be prepared to evacuate if the water levels rise again.
While the high water levels have put a strain on the community, there are some who are stepping up to lend a hand.
Nicole Grigorov and her husband own the Mattawa River Resort and Cardinal Lodge just off Highway 17. She went downtown to see the damage and felt helpless. And this morning she felt compelled to reach out.
“I woke up and called my husband to see if he was okay with us offering up the resort since we have cottages that people can come in and eat in, and he was all for it and to me it is just common sense, it is the right thing to do,” said Grigorov, who moved from the Niagara region to take over the resort two years ago.
“We don’t have any people staying until the May 24th weekend so it is a place to come and be safe, be warm and have electricity then so be it.”
Grigorov believes Mattawa residents are hoping for the best, but are planning for the worst.
“I am just sick and I look at all the houses around, it is really low and the water is high and people could lose everything especially those who don’t have insurance and it makes you feel like you have to reach out and do something to help someone,” she said.
