City fixing Whitesand drainage

To fix a drainage issue on Whitesand Drive the City will dip into its rainy day fund.

The problem area is one the City has known about, explained René Richard, Director of Engineering and Asset Management, with the City.

At the regular meeting of Council, on Jan 30, 2017, delegates from Integrated Engineering (IE) presented a report outlining a long term plan to deal with drainage issues throughout the City of Yorkton. This report was in response to the ongoing drainage issues at 11 locations that were specifically identified by the Public Works Department, he told Council at its regular meeting Monday.

One of the locations identified was the intersection of Whitesand Drive and Pheasant Cove.

The initial report estimated the cost of the project to deal with the drainage issue at $1.6 million, said Richard.

“The estimate included the replacement of the existing storm pipeline with a much larger pipe along Whitesand Drive from Pheasant Cove to Madge Way, and along Madge Way from Whitesand Drive to the outlet near the Riverside Terrace Bridge. This alignment was chosen due to the condition of the roadway on Madge Way. It was thought at the time that the entire roadway would have to be reconstructed due to asphalt failures however the roadway was repaired in 2017,” he detailed.

The issue has recently become more pronounced.

“Due to recent thunderstorm events, we have been getting more complaints from this area. The water ponds high enough to get into some garages and takes several hours to drain away,” said Richard.

As a result IE was asked to provide an updated cost estimate for a different alignment.

“We are proposing a relief line that extends north to York Road. For this option, the required pipe length would not be as long, it would provide a secondary pipe instead of one larger pipe, and there would be less pavement to repair,” said Richard.

The new proposal was estimated to cost $700,000.

“Ideally this work should be done before the scheduled paving of York Road East planned for this summer/fall. The proposed outlet would need to cross York Road. Unlike some of the areas listed in the IE report, this location does not depend on downstream improvements to be done prior. It can be done at any time. Therefore we would like to proceed with this project either before the paving of York Road East or in conjunction with it,” offered Richard.

In terms of funding Richard said there is currently $370,000 available in the storm reserves. Any costs over that would have to come from the Rainy Day Fund. At year end $427,000 was placed in this reserve account with $297,000 subsequently dedicated for soccer pitches and $130,000 available.

The so-called rainy day fund also contains $361,000 allocated in years previous to 2017, explained City Manager, adding that after the proposed drainage projects $161,000 would remain in the fund.

Council unanimously supported moving forward with the project