Parkland roads cut to divert floodwaters

Municipal officials in parts of the Parkland say the worst flooding of the season might be over, but they are keeping a close eye on weather conditions.

Bill Gade, reeve of the Municipality of Swan Valley West, said some homes in his municipality have flooded and there are 25 to 30 roads still closed.

“We had to cut a couple roads open just to get the water away from the houses,” Gade said on Monday.

“We’re having success with digging holes to get the water to go someplace.”

Most of the at-risk homes were saved by redirecting water, he said, while “several” others had small amounts of water go into basements.

Gade said the municipality has used some sandbags but it doesn’t typically use them as there are so many hills.

The last time a road was cut in the municipality was about 15 years ago, Gade said, adding it’s better to lose a road than someone’s house.

“It’s kind of a measure of absolute last resort.”

He’s still hoping for the snow to keep melting slowly, watching the forecast and hoping for the best.

“It looks like we’re probably through the worst of it,” he said.

The province’s most recent flood bulletin released on Thursday said that provincial staff are helping prepare for flooding in multiple communities in the Parkland and Interlake. It also said the Assiniboine River is under a flood warning.

In the Municipality of Russell Binscarth, officials have called a local state of emergency in order to cut a provincial road.

Officials cut into the intersection of Provincial Road 579 and Municipal Road 112 North in order to mitigate flooding.

“As of (Monday), it appears that the water coming from Saskatchewan has stabilized. But again, an influx of rain could change that at a moment’s notice,” municipal emergency co-ordinator Wes Anderson said.

The cut across the road forms a miniature river, allowing water to head into the Assiniboine River valley instead of two homesteads and a livestock operation.

“If that cut wasn’t made, we would have overland flooding for maybe about a half a mile of that road,” said Anderson, who is also a municipal councillor.

“It would have been devastating to those folks that would have water up to their back doors and to have to move livestock to other pastures in the area.”

Other than the cut in the municipality’s southwestern corner, Anderson said they have only seen minor overland flooding.

“So far, everything seems to be quite stable in our neck of the woods,” he said.

Meanwhile, the chief administrative officer in the Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman said public works staff are clearing ditches and making sure culverts are cleared.

“We’ve been able to mitigate quite a bit of the flooding. We’ve got a few road closures, though,” Lynda Parsons said.

She said the real story is how well the weather has been co-operating.

“I know winter feels like it’s going on forever, but we’re pretty happy about that, just because with the freezing and all this other stuff that’s going on, it just slows everything down,” Parsons said.

The municipality has seven road closures because of flooding, though that often happens at this time of year for some of those roads, she said.

She said she hasn’t heard of any serious damage in the municipality, but staff are ready with sandbags.

“Our public works department deserves a hand for the shape that we’re in right now,” Parsons added.

In Brandon, emergency manager Tobin Praznik told the Sun that while there is a flood warning, there isn’t a worry at this time.

“We have experienced some overland flooding already for the last couple of weeks,” Praznik said.

“A week ago, we did experience a minor ice jam that impacted a few of our recreational areas that we had to temporarily close. But since, the river has receded and we are within banks as we currently sit.”

He said river levels are expected to rise again later this week as outflow from the Shellmouth Dam has increased.

“We encourage, and we advise for all public to stay away from the river at this time, even in conditions as we’re experiencing (Monday),” he said.

“The river is dangerous, overland flood waters are dangerous and we encourage people, if they happen to use recreational areas, to keep a close eye on their pets and, of course, their children, because it wouldn’t take much to make those situations quite dangerous.”

The city will see additional overland flooding in low-lying areas, Praznik said, and staff will keep an eye out in case recreational spots are impacted.

Back in Swan Valley West, Gade said the municipality will “nudge” the province as hard as it can for disaster-assistance funding, and is taking photos and doing measurements.

“If we don’t lose any bridges, I don’t imagine they’re going to come up with any help for us, which is fine,” he said. “We always hope they do.”

He said the municipality is nervous about two bridges, one of which would not be replaceable if it were to be damaged because of updated regulations.

Swan River Mayor Lance Jacobson didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.

» alambert@brandonsun.com