Estevan awoke to some unprecedented wet weather last weekend. Although the weather was calling for rain, what fell was far from what was expected. Heavy downpours hammered the city throughout the day, and the amount of precipitation received exceeded a 70-year high for the day, for Saturday, Sept. 5. The inundation of rain resulted in flash floods in several parts of the city, and the temporary closure of several businesses during the day.
According to Environment Canada, the largest amount of precipitation Estevan has received on Sept. 5 since 1945 was 46.8 mm. This amount was greatly exceeded last Saturday, with the city receiving a whopping 136 mm over the course of the day.
“For the most part, it rained harder than the storm sewer system could take,” said Norm Mack, public works foreman with the City of Estevan. “Therefore there was a lot of water laying in several locations for a while. After we gave it time, the water disappeared, after the pipes got a chance to drain it away.”
Cst. Barry Schulte with the Estevan Police Service reported that rain severely hampered travel throughout the city all day long, on Saturday, with several flooded streets. The water even led to the closure of a few roadways such as the Humane Society Road, Woodlawn Ave. South, and several blocks of Fourth St.
A reason for the closure of a portion of Fourth St. was the billowing effect of cars driving through accumulating water, sending it splashing into storefronts on either side of the road.
Helen Fornwald, EMO (Emergency Measures Organization) co-ordinator for the City of Estevan, said the first two of the three closed roads were still closed at the beginning of this week, and are among those that require repairs, due to flood damage. Mack noted that Public Works will be repairing damaged areas by replacing clay and gravel, where they were eroded away by the floodwater.
“We haven’t seen flooding like this since 2011,” said Fornwald, who noted that dislodged manhole covers were another hazard that resulted from Saturday’s flooding, which the city had to rectify last weekend.
At one point in the morning, a pair of railroad crossing gates malfunctioned on 13th Ave., and were unnecessarily lowered for about an hour. This incident blocked the passage of traffic over the tracks, until the authorities fixed it.
Public Works was busy throughout the day and night on Saturday, unclogging and monitoring all draining sites, and putting up barricades where necessary, as the situation progressed.
Mack noted that while the flooding was severe, the drainage system worked as well as it ought to in such conditions, and once the accumulated water began to drain, it didn’t take long for the affected areas to clear.
“It takes time to drain all that water. It’s like a bathtub in that respect. The pipes were full and they needed to get rid of that water,” said Mack. “Our job is to try and be proactive and get to things before they turn into a bigger situation.”
