Mac Olsen
Express Staff
For the second time this year, the M.D. of Smoky River No. 130 has been subject to flooding, although it was not as bad as occurred in late April.
The region endured a big storm on July 20, with seven inches of rain or more reported in some places. Signs of flooding were evident in the fields on both sides of Highway 49 the next day, between Falher and Girouxville.
Flooding in the fields was also evident along Highway 2 towards Nampa, as well as along Highway 744 between Jean Cote and Girouxville.
Kevin Cymbaluk, the director of operations for the M.D., noted that water overflowed on the roads in the M.D., in over two dozen places.
Public Works employees conducted repairs and placed warning signs and barricades up accordingly.
The M.D. has been dealing with repair work at 669 locations since late April, and this latest flooding has only compounded the situation, he says.
The 669 locations have been documented for a claim that the M.D. will eventually make with the Alberta Government for disaster relief, and the latest repair work may be added on to that.
In McLennan, two streets were cordoned off due to water overflow, but there was no other significant impact to the community, says CAO Lorraine Willier. Also, there were no issues with either lift station in McLennan and water flowed at maximum capacity.
The Smoky River Regional Golf Course in McLennan and the 5 Star Golf Course south of Falher were closed down for the weekend. However, both re-opened on July 23.
In Falher, the lift station over flowed and six vacuum trucks were called in. Dave Brown, of public works, partially barricaded several streets to slow down drivers.
He also opened an approach at the snow dump near Block X, to alleviate the water buildup.
The grass at the Falher Regional Recreation Complex was also flooded.
However, overall, Falher weathered the rain storm without major flood damage, he adds.
In Donnelly, the lift station was unable to keep up and several vacuum trucks were required to handle the overflow, says CAO Rita Maure.
The Village of Girouxville suffered no major flooding, says CAO Estelle Girard.
Also, the McLennan/Girouxville canal was full, but it kept up with no overflow, and the ditches and sewers ran at full capacity. The lift station also ran at full capacity, with both pumps running.
Water ran over the road on the west side of the community.