OttawaAs dry weather persists this fall, some residents living in rural Ottawa say the private wells they rely on for water are running empty.Some rural residents are turning to water suppliers to keep their taps runningJodie Applewaithe · CBC News · Posted: Oct 10, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoResidents in rural Ottawa worried their wells will run dry as drought continuesCBC’s Jodie Applewaithe spoke to residents who are relying on a water truck to fill their wells. Local conservation authorities continue to ask people to manage their water use. As dry weather persists this fall, some residents living in rural Ottawa say the private wells they rely on for water are running empty.In Kinburn, a community in rural west Ottawa, Tammy Johnstone’s well keeps the tap water inside her home running.Peering down into the well on Thursday, Johnstone said it was “almost completely dry,” making tasks like doing laundry and showering difficult.Agriculture Canada monitors drought conditions across the country each month, ranking their severity on a scale of zero to four. In a statement to CBC News on Thursday, the agency said eastern Ontario saw an expansion of Level 2 or “severe drought,” as well as the emergence of Level 3 or “extreme drought” in some areas from Kingston to Ottawa.Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said high pressure systems across the province have brought on the arid conditions.”These tend to be drier weather systems,” he said, adding that the systems often deflect storms and the precipitation they bring.This climate has led eight eastern Ontario conservation authorities to issue low-water advisories. The Mississippi Valley Conservation authority issued the most severe low-water advisory for both the watersheds it manages in September. (Georges-Etienne Nadon-Tessier)The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority issued Level 3 low water advisories — the highest level warning — for both the Mississippi and Carp river watersheds last month, and it has said that’s not likely to change any time soon.Eastern Ontario watersheds still running dry as fall approachesFarms around Ottawa struggling as drought conditions persistIt’s asking residents who rely on private wells to reduce water consumption by 50 per cent, but for some the supply has already been drying up.’A huge difference’Johnstone has had to rely on a water supplier to replenish her well every three weeks, whereas in previous years she said that would only be needed two or three times a year during the summer months.”We’re definitely seeing a huge difference, and never in October did we have to fill the well,” she said. “That pretty much says it all.”Johnstone usually orders drinking water by delivery, but she’s been having to make that stretch this year, too.”If we run out of water, we do use it to flush the toilets,” she said. “We’ve had to use it for hair washing in the kitchen sink.”Next door, her neighbour Vladimir Borosa is worried he’ll also have to find another source of water.”I’m actually worried that we’re gonna go completely dry, to be honest with you. And then we got problems,” Borosa said. “We’ll have the water truck parked in our driveway and hooked up to the water supply for the house.”Kinburn resident Vladimir Borosa says he’s concerned he’ll have to start looking for other ways to get water. (Georges-Etienne Nadon-Tessier)Scott McGuire, owner of Scott McGuire Enterprises Water Haulage, has been helping Johnstone and many others in and around Ottawa.After 21 years working in the water hauling business, McGuire says this is the worst year he’s seen yet for dry wells.”Normal years, like on a busy year, we do 19 to 20 wells throughout the whole year,” McGuire said. “This year we’re doing four or five a day easily.”That work comes at a high cost, especially for residents whose wells are their only source of water. McGuire gave the example of farmers who need water for their ponds, crops and animals.”I’ve got customers that are like every four days … getting a load of water, which costs them $300 [to] $400 every three to four days.”While he’d usually wrap up operations by winter, McGuire expects he’ll be hauling water all year unless lots of rain and wet snow falls on the region.Relief to come, meteorologist saysResidents like Johnstone and Borosa are hoping the dry weather breaks soon.While Ottawa has gotten record amounts of rainfall so far this autumn with nearly 59 millimetres recorded at the airport on Tuesday, Coulson said the dry weather is expected to continue into at least the next week.”We’re already up to or over half the total amount of rainfall we would expect long-term for the month of October,” he said. “But again, a lot of that rain falling in a short period of time and not providing the benefits that most people were probably looking for.”Some relief could be coming later this month, Coulson said.”The hope will be the second half of October with more series of gentler rainfalls softening up that ground a bit and allowing the rainfall to penetrate further, and perhaps help to replenish some of those wells that may be suffering because of the dry conditions of the last number of weeks.”ABOUT THE AUTHORJodie Applewaithe is an associate producer with CBC Ottawa. You can reach her at jodie.applewaithe@cbc.ca
As drought conditions persist, some wells running dry in rural Ottawa
