It’s been two years since the residents of Leo Lane fought bravely against Mother Nature and the Ottawa River before they were finally forced to give into the inevitable and abandon their homes to the rising water.

The result was both devastating and costly. Michel Potvin had to replace his entire foundation, the subfloor, the hardwood flooring and several appliances at a cost of more than $300,000.

Dan and Sahondra Larivée lost dozens of personal effects after the water filled their basement and rose two feet above the main floor.

Genevieve Landry and Chris Blenkiron had to replace their flooring and most of the drywall in their home, as did Rollande and Frank Roberge. The two couples joined forces to purchase a coffer dam in the aftermath of the 2017 flood at a cost of $35,000 each, hoping they might never have to use it. Little did they know they would need it just two years later to prevent another potential disaster.

A coffer dam is a large section of heavy vinyl tubing that is inflated with water. For the past 10 days the dam has kept the homes on Leo Lane relatively dry, but it has been nip and tuck for the past few days as the Ottawa River has threatened to over- flow the five foot high dam and thousands of sandbags that have been filled and put in place by a small army of volunteers, some of whom have been on site every day since the call went out for help.

On Saturday, the army showed up to help with the operation. It’s literally been all hands on deck since the first forecast came in predicting major flooding. In that, the residents of Leo Lane are way ahead of where they were in 2017.

No one was prepared for what happened two years ago. The water rose so high and so fast, there was no time to call in the army or recruit hundreds of volunteers and the City was slow to react as well.

They ultimately turned the power off in the hope of convincing the last remaining residents to vacate their homes. Some were even promised that emergency workers would keep their pumps from running out of gas. By the next morning the street was deserted, the pumps had fallen silent and the sandbag walls, which the residents and volunteers had spent so much blood, sweat and tears maintaining, had collapsed and allowed the water to inundate their homes.

No one wants a repeat of 2017, least of all the residents who have no intention of abandoning their homes this time around no matter how high the water rises, or the power is shut off.

They are staying to the bitter end to protect their homes and their property and Mother Nature be damned.

Whether or not they are fighting a losing battle remains to be seen. The water barely rose at all on Sunday and as of Monday afternoon the dam and the sandbags were still holding. The fear is that it’s just a break in the conflict.

The 2017 flood occurred in mid-May during the second of two high water events that normally occur along the Ottawa River basin every year, although hardly ever as severely as what occurred in 2017.

Two years ago, the initial flooding occurred in late April. For the next two weeks the water receeded about two feet when the second flood hit, made worse by three days of heavy rain which ended up causing all the damage.

The thought that they might have to man the battlements again in the next two weeks is mindnumbing.

If the water doesn’t recede fast enough and low enough then the impact of the second flood event could be even worse than in 2017.

One thing for sure is that the sandbags won’t be coming down anytime soon. At least not until the danger has passed and the water begins to recede which will take several weeks. And then the long and arduous task of cleaning up what the river has left behind can begin.

If the battle is won and the residents emerge victorious, they can thank the hundreds of volunteers who answered the call to help. Most are from the area, but some have come from as far away as Toronto. They’ve filled and placed thousands of sandbags all day, every day, while others have been busy making hot lunches for them. It’s enough to restore one’s faith in the human spirit.

The hope is that many of them will return in a month’s time to clean up the mess the river will undoubtedly leave behind, not to mention the thousands of sandbags that will have to be removed and disposed of. Only then will everyone be able to breath a collective sigh of relief.

(If you wish to comment on this or any other View Point column please write to Fred Sherwin at fsherwin@magma.ca)