Yellow Grass (cpd) - The town of Yellow Grass is asking residents to conserve water as the lift station is having problems keeping up to the high demands that were put on it.
Yellow Grass (cpd) - The town of Yellow Grass is asking residents to conserve water as the lift station is having problems keeping up to the high demands that were put on it. A few suggestions include unplugging water softeners, unplug reverse osmosis systems, don't use a dishwasher, wash only full loads of laundry, don't flush every time, and run sump pump hoses outside instead of to the floor drain. More information can be obtained from the Town Office.
This request is due to the recent effects in the town from the excess rainfall. The residents of Yellow Grass were handling excess water, until an additional six to seven inches of rained poured down on June 16 and June 17. Not only did people have to contend with extreme water seepage and basement flooding, but the water supply to residents in Yellow Grass was also cut off for approximately 20 hours.
This was done to enable the lift station to be able to handle the extra water that was being pumped into the sewer by sump pumps. Dikes of sand were put up, streets were cut, holes were dug and irrigation pumps were set up to pump the water our of the town. During this situation, a state of emergency was called.
Many people pitched in and helped around the clock to make sure the town was safe and the lift station continued to run. Previously, the water had been shut off on many occasions for the same reason. Each time the water was shut off, the school dismissed early for the day.
The school buses did not run during the afternoon of June 17 because of the flood conditions. They were also unable to run on June 20 because of poor road conditions, and did not run until the roads improved. Parents drove their children to the school until the buses resumed.
The year-end school trips for the week of June 20-25 were canceled. The Grade 1 and 2 classes had planned to have a picnic at their teachers' home, but instead held it at the school. The Grade 1 to 6 students were unable to attend the national Aboriginal Day in Regina on June 21 because it was called. The Grade 1 to 4 students went swimming at Oungre Park as the Weyburn Leisure Centre was closed because of a boil water advisory in Weyburn.
Premier Brad Wall visited Yellow Grass on June 20 to view the situation. The town of Yellow Grass has applied for the disaster assistance program, but are still waiting to hear if they have been approved.
The Red Cross have clean-up kits available, and people can contact George Barker in Weyburn for more information. The Sun Country Health Region also dropped off information kits at the Yellow Grass town office.
