REGINA – Approximately six feet of water covered Highway 1 between Sintaluta and Wolseley by Sunday night, leaving dozens of westbound travelers stranded overnight, either in the homes of billets or in the town’s community centre.
The town itself also experienced flooding: the motel was evacuated early Monday morning. The town’s mayor is concerned about erosion of the town’s spillway; directly behind it is a hospital and seniors’ home.
“In 2011, we had another flood and I would say it would be equal, maybe even more significant this year,” said Mayor Dennis Fjestad.
Early Monday morning, Wolseley called neighbouring Katepwa for help in controlling the water level.
“We saw that they had a significant issue…on the spillway was one issue, a lift station was another one,” said Warren Bobbee, the emergency planning consultant for the District of Katepwa. “We set up and deployed an aqua dam to protect that so if we do have a situation here it will protect the lift station from being damaged.”
Meanwhile, the water is rising at Katepwa Lake.
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“Obviously people are concerned and people are out,” said Katepwa cabin owner, Carmen Amyotte. “And we’ll just help out our neighbours when we can.”
There’s still no word on when Highway One near Wolseley will be re-opened.
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