Just two years after the last major flood, homeowners in the Qu’Appelle Valley are once again preparing for the worst.
“They say it’s supposed to be higher this year, so we’ll prepare for it that way,” said Lori Wolf, whose home sits on the Qu’Appelle River between Lumsden and Craven.
While the river remains low at this point, the level is expected to shoot up as runoff from the Moose Jaw River and Wascana Creek enters the system. In 2011, the water got so high the community was forced to close the James Street Bridge. With higher levels expected this year, the community is preparing to do the same thing again.
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“We were able to handle things two years ago,” said Lumsden Mayor Bryan Matheson. “We are very comfortable that we can handle everything again.”
Lumsden has a long history of fighting back flood water. A series of dikes were built to protect the town after a record flood in 1974, and homeowners are being warned to prepare for the worst.
“We have sandbags available for the local residents if they need them,” added Matheson. “We want people to make sure that they take all the precautions necessary.
The highways ministry is also taking action. In 2011, the river came close to crossing over highway 11. A great deal of debris has been cleared since then to keep drainage paths free, but the ministry is still making sure it’s ready for the worst case scenario.
“We’re putting posts in the ground where we can put signs on really quickly if we have to transition traffic from one set of lanes to the other set of lanes, depending on the volume of the water if it does go over the road,” said Archie Stewart, District Operations Manager for the highways ministry.
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