'Dam' beavers cause train derailment near Canadian capitalBusy beavers were on Friday blamed for a train derailment derailment /de·rail·ment/ (de-ral´ment) disordered thought or speech characteristic of schizophrenia and marked by constant jumping from one topic to another before the first is fully realized. that spilled more than 20,000 liters of diesel fuel into the Ottawa River Ottawa River River, eastern central Canada, the chief tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises in the Laurentian plateau of western Quebec and flows west to form the Quebec-Ontario border before joining the St. Lawrence west of Montreal. , which supplies the Canadian capital's drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. . The collapse of three beaver dams late Wednesday released a wall of floodwater flood·wa·ter n. The water of a flood. Often used in the plural. floodwater n → aguas fpl (de la inundación) floodwater n up to 12 feet (3.5 meters) high that rolled across the tracks, 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of Ottawa, Ottawa Valley The Ottawa Valley is the valley surrounding the Ottawa River for the west-east portion of its path through the Canadian Shield from Mattawa to Hawkesbury. Because of the surrounding shield, the valley is narrow at its western end, then becomes increasingly wide (mainly on the Railroad said in a statement. Nearly 200 meters (600 feet) of track was destroyed, the company said. Two locomotives and six empty railcars used to haul lumber were derailed. One of them ended up in the river and flushed 4,500 imperial gallons (20,450 liters) of diesel fuel into the river. The train's two-person crew experienced minor injuries when the locomotives came to rest on their sides. Authorities said there was no immediate threat to Ottawa's drinking water or wildlife in the area. Ottawa Valley Railroad, a subsidiary of Rail America, said the economic impact of the rail line's closure would be minimal. The firm said it would not require the use of the track for several weeks due to low shipping volumes along the route of late. 
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