Ottawa ice dippers make the most of Britannia Beach flooding

Ėrik Thuswaldner relaxes by a flooded park bench at Britannia Bay. The Ottawa West Ice Dippers, an ice plunging group based in Britannia, has used the park's flooding to prolong their season this year. Thuswaldner was one of the plungers at the group's most recent flood water dip. A photo of him reading while sat on a submerged Britannia park bench went viral last week on Instagram. Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA

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What’s been a nuisance for most Britannia residents quickly became quite the opposite for one local group of adrenaline junkies.

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In late April, the Ottawa West Ice Dippers went for a frigid dip — not into their usual ice holes, but instead into the flood waters of Britannia Beach.

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Due to last month’s heavy rainfall and warm temperatures, the Ottawa River flooded various parts of the city. Among the affected areas was Britannia, where water rose high enough to submerge numerous park benches. But for the Ottawa West Ice Dippers — a Facebook group created mainly to provide status updates on the ice dipping holes at Britannia Beach — there was a glint of opportunity on the river.

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“When I saw the flooded waters, I thought, this has to happen,” said Christiane Aitken, a member of the group since January. “I went to try it out on my own, I tried the path along the benches and that was a success for me.”

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“Of course, I got weird looks. Then I thought, I’m going to get as big of a group as I can to join me.”

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Christiane Aitken (right) went plunging in Britannia flood water with other local ice dippers on Apr. 21, 2026. Photo by CHRISTIANA AITKEN /HANDOUT

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A group of nine ice dippers braved the flooded beach on Apr. 21, just a few days after Ottawans were told to brace for heavy rainfall.

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“It was a novelty,” said Aitken. “How often do you have a chance to go cold plunging in flooded waters like that? It was a new exploration and definitely great for pictures and memories. And it was cold.”

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For member Ėrik Thuswaldner, the flood plunge was his first experience with the local thrill seekers.

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“I went cold plunging in the Atlantic Ocean in the fall, it was a similar temperature,” he said. “They (the Ottawa West Ice Dippers) were very encouraging to have someone come out and have their first plunge in the group.”

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Thuswaldner described the Britannia get-together to be like “being a little kid in a wading pool.”

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“It’s random people who are just kind of sitting in the water, talking through the pain of wading in two degree water,” he said. “We were just talking about how cold it is.”

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Ėrik Thuswaldner relaxes by a flooded park bench at Britannia Bay. The Ottawa West Ice Dippers, an ice plunging group based in Britannia, has used the park’s flooding to prolong their season this year. Thuswaldner was one of the plungers at the group’s most recent flood water dip. A photo of him reading while sat on a submerged Britannia park bench went viral last week on Instagram. Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA

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A photo of Thuswaldner reading a book while sitting on a half-submerged bench has garnered a lot of attention on Instagram, getting reposted by multiple popular Ottawa accounts.

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“It was never intended to go viral and reach the masses,” he said. “It was just a little funny prank to take a funny photo in the moment.”

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The social media posts drew in mixed opinions. While some Ottawans appreciated the comedy behind the photo, others voiced concerns about swimming in the Ottawa River.

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Laura Reinsborough, CEO of Ottawa Riverkeeper, said there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the river’s cleanliness.

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“The Ottawa River is one of the cleanest capital rivers in the world. (It’s) naturally brown from being rich in tannin,” said Reinsborough. “That’s a bit of myth busting we try to do. When it’s the time of flooding, that will show even stronger because the water is being mixed up even more.”

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Reinsborough said safety hazards look different from one season to the next. In terms of flood season, she said risks are more about the physical safety side of swimming rather than the bacteriological side.