WINNIPEG – As the temperature rises so does the water in Ruth Crewe’s back lane.
“This is bad,” said the Atlantic Avenue resident. “I can’t drive my car out of the garage. I am trapped.”
The water is around 30 centimetres deep in places. When a person drives through the lane, the vehicle pushes water and ice chunks into Crewe’s garage.
Crewe tried calling 311 and even waited on hold for 2.5 hours. A city operator told her it would be 11 days before crews could work on draining the water, she said.
“I don’t blame the city for the water, but they could be better prepared,” she said.
As the temperature is set to climb into the double digits late this week, city crews will have their hands full steaming up drains still clogged with ice so the water has somewhere to go.
City officials said they have 15 large steaming machines and four smaller devices, and crews are working 24 hours a day. The city has received about 2,000 calls about flooded streets and back lanes, though some may be multiple calls about the same locations, officials said.
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