Flood situation stabilizes in Municipal District of Taber

A municipal district in southern Alberta says it will end a state of local emergency on Friday night that’s been in place since March 23 because of overland flooding.

Officials with the M.D. of Taber say the alert will expire at 9:05 p.m. MT.

Heavy snow over the winter coupled with a rapid melt this spring led to significant overland flooding throughout the municipality, affecting farmland and infrastructure.

So far, flood mitigation costs from the disaster are currently pegged at roughly $450,000. The price tag for damage to infrastructure is about $1.2 million.

The district said 831 flood sites were logged by municipal crews, and 465 of those sites saw damage to infrastructure.  Many locations sustained both culvert and road damage.

Pumping operations are still ongoing at a number of sites. As well, there about 80 kilometres of road closures.  Anyone travelling near the affected locations is reminded to abide by all barricades and signs.

“Although considerable flood water remains on agricultural farmland, overland flows have largely ended with reservoir and lake levels now stabilizing and municipal infrastructure repairs well underway.” The M.D. of Taber said in a release Friday.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Although considerable flood water remains on agricultural farmland, overland flows have largely ended with reservoir and lake levels now stabilizing and municipal infrastructure repairs well underway." The M.D. of Taber said in a release Friday.

The municipality said it will also be applying for provincial disaster recovery funding.