Normally, people love being in the water during hot weather, but OWL's attendance is down by around 15 per cent this summer, according to co-owner Claudia Van Wijk.
It's not because the Ottawa River has dried up – its water supply remains bountiful, and the low water levels make rafting more exciting because the water curves closer to the river bed below it.
"We're shaking our heads going, 'What has happened? Why are people not flocking to it?'" she asks, adding she suspects it could involve the faulty perception that dry weather means poor rafting conditions.
However, the drought has had an adverse effect on the other business that Ms. Van Wijk and her husband own, the Madawaska Kanu Centre in Barry's Bay.
The Madawaska River uses a regulated dam system, and normally the rafting company is permitted to use the river for 26 hours, or four full days, per week. Because of the lower water levels, however, it's been bumped down to only 18 hours over three days.
To counterbalance this decrease, the company bought an additional raft and hired another raft guide to squeeze in as many customers as possible.
CALYPSO
Out in Limoges, half an hour east of the city, Calypso water park is booming with activity and maintaining its status as one of the most popular tourist draws in the region – it was ranked eighth in OBJ's list of top attractions earlier this year.
This season has been more successful than last year's rainy summer months, says Ginette Robert, vice-president of sales and marketing for Calypso's owner, Le Groupe Village Vacances Valcartier.
The water park is on track to beat its 400,000-visitor record set last year, she says.
Calypso's success comes despite the fact that the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority declared a Level 2 drought last month, meaning that precipitation fell to between 40 to 60 per cent of the normal level within a one-month period.
A Level 3 drought could be declared if the dry weather continues and precipitation levels drop to less than 40 per cent of the average. If that happens, the province could place water restrictions on the water park. Until then, it was only advised to limit water use where possible.
Because of a water ban issued in The Nation Municipality, which includes Limoges, Calypso has stopped watering its lawn and its grass is as yellow as everywhere else, Ms. Robert says.
Mary McCuaig, a clerk from the Nation Municipality office, says Calypso uses a well below its property to operate all of its equipment, and only uses the municipal water supply for washrooms and administrative buildings.
And because of the park's brand-new filtration system, it's able to clean and reuse its water, then return most of it back to the well at the end of the season.
MONT CASCADES
Mont Cascades water park in Cantley, Que. is surrounded by mountains and trees that shelter it from some of the drought's effects, according to vice-president Luc Desormeaux, and the heat hasn't been keeping anyone away.
"The less rain there is in a forecast, the more people come out," he says, adding attendance is 10 per cent higher than average so far this summer.
Mont Cascades uses well water from its own property to power its slides and a filtration system to reuse the water.
The fact this summer is the driest on record in decades is exceptional, he says, and not something around which a company can plan its business.
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