The City of Yorkton has declared a state of emergency. Heavy rains throughout the south-east corner of the province have caused flooding in the city, with the storm sewer system going over-capacity. The Darlington underpass was also flooded and was closed until Monday afternoon.
Mayor Bob Maloney says that the situation is better than it was four years ago, with only a couple applying for emergency accommodation, but that anecdotally there have been many people with water and sewage in their basement, and the city is advising people to keep a close eye on their basements and homes.
"We want to advise people to keep an eye on their basements, check neighbors if you can, especially if you have seniors in your area who might need some help."
Residents are advised to direct their sump pumps outside and keep water out of the sewage system, as the sewers are over-capacity. Maloney says that council is considering making it mandatory for pumps to go outside in the future.
The city also does not have the manpower to help everyone who needs it with water in their basement, and Maloney says residents will have to engage local contractors for assistance.
Maloney says that while there was still flooding, the storm sewer upgrades made since 2010 have helped matters immensely, and that the $8 million in sewer upgrades was money well spent.
"I think our storm sewer system, which was overrun in 2010, performed admirably in the last few days. Our storm system had capacity, it moved the water well, our ponds which we have invested in have done their job. As you can see the ponds are very full right now, in fact they're flooding, and we're doing our best to pump those down and relieve pressure on our system, but I think those dollars are well spent. Every time we look at our drainage, we think we can save a little money on drainage and then we get this, which is unprecedented."
Part of the problem, especially on the north end of the city, comes down to timing. Work scheduled on the Dracup corridor would have helped with the situation, and the work is planned to be complete in two months.
"When that work is completed it will go a long way to alleviate the issues that we have, and it's just unfortunate in the timing of it," Maloney says.
Yorkton got lucky however, and Maloney notes that many communities in the province had significantly more rain and bigger issues than the city. He says that they did not request provincial support so that other communities such as Melville and Redvers which had larger rainfall could access it.
People with damage will need to go through insurers for sewer damage, or go through PDAP for coverage, which the city has applied for. Residents will be able to apply for coverage through that, and forms will be available soon.
Residents who need to get rid of ruined material in their basements can use the flood relief dumpsters at Park Street, the Public Works Yard, MC Knoll School and St. Paul's School.
The City of Yorkton's emergency numbers are, 306-828-2490, 306-828-2491, 306-828-2494, 306-828-2495. These numbers will remain in effect until further notice. The city's website at www.yorkton.ca will also have information about PDAP applications and companies which will help in repairs.
