North Gower firefighter Joe McLaughlin had been up most of the night helping area residents to protect their homes from the record rain that hit the valley on Monday, but he never expected to wake up the next morning to a more dire situation than those he had left.

"It’s two feet deep in the backyard and this morning (my basement) was about four feet deep with the pumps I was able to get from work ... I’m down probably about a foot now," said McLaughlin.

McLaughlin and hundreds of residents in the small town and surrounding communities were dealing with the aftermath of a record 79 mm rainfall that fell throughout the day Monday. He said area residents told him they haven't seen that much water in the streets since 1973.

Evidence of the damage was clear upon entering the town. Fields on the north and south of Roger Stevens Drive were flooded, including the property of Cava’s Organic Farm, which was still recovering from the flood damage this spring.

McLaughlin lives on Perkins Drive, one of the most vulnerable streets, near Stevens Creek that filled the already saturated nearby field and flooded the street, making it look more like a large pond than a residential road.

The Ottawa fire Sector Chief Adrian Dearman said that just as with the flood that affected Ottawa River communities this spring, crews were dealing with natural gas and hydro issues.

"And obviously we are going to have drinking water issues because these houses are all on wells," said Dearman. "With the water coming out, the water will be mixing with the septic systems. So I’ve contacted public health to come out here and there will most likely be a boil-water advisory."

Nearby Perkins Home Building Centre is typically buzzing with fork lifts bringing lumber in and out of the yard for customers. But Monday the yard was a large pond with lumber stacked on the edges.

"This is usually rows of lumber and so we’ve pulled everything up so hopefully it doesn’t get so soaked that it starts to rot," said Cory Perkins, pointing toward the yard. "Stevens Creek runs out of the Marlborough Forest and it runs up the Rideau at Kars and everything is just swollen. There’s nowhere to go. Hopefully the Rideau systems decided to open up the locks to let some water out. Otherwise we are in some serious trouble for a few days."

Patrick Larson with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority confirmed Parks Canada operates the canal system manipulating the dams as required. He said locks cannot be used because they were not designed to take that kind of through flow.

"Stevens Creek drainage is related to water levels in the Long Reach of the Rideau," said Larson. "When the Rideau is high, water in Stevens Creek cannot get away quickly. As the Rideau declines, so too will Stevens Creek.”