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Spring thaw, rain cause flooding in Saint-Lazare

WATCH ABOVE: The spring thaw and recent rain have caused flooding in Saint-Lazare, but as Global’s Brayden Jagger Haines reports, the city is working to bring the situation under control – Mar 23, 2019

Residents in Saint-Lazare’s Saddlebrook neighbourhood are anxious as water is beginning to creep up several streets in the area.

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“This is the worst flooding I have seen in 15 years,” said resident Keith Bayer. “I am trapped in my house.”

Daniel Boyer, the city’s director of public security and fire services, is blaming the weather.

“With the rapid snowmelt and fairly heavy rains that occurred yesterday, the water level in Pearl’s Pond has risen,” he said, adding that the water was overflowing and pooling on lower ground.

READ MORE: Flood preparations starting in Ste. Agathe as province warns of high water levels

Environment Canada says 25 to 30 millimetres of rain has fallen in the area since Thursday.

The affected streets include du Bordelais and Stallion.

Flooding at the intersection of Stallion and du Bordelais streets in Saint-Lazare. Saturday, March 23, 2019. Brayden Jagger Haines/Global News

The problem is compounded by the fact that the area has no sewers, relying instead on a system of dry wells.

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City officials explained that the water had nowhere to go because the ground is still frozen and the wells are saturated.

Crews, however, are out in the area working to rectify the situation.

“We have teams working to make sure that houses aren’t damaged by the flooding,” Boyer said in a video posted to Facebook.

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So far, Boyer said that only one home near du Bordelais Street has had problems with the water, and he’s hoping to keep it that way.

“We are working to put sandbags for the protection of the residences,” he said. “We will continue to work until the situation has been regularized.”

Boyer said other plans to bring the situation back to normal include pumping water from the pond into an area where it won’t cause any problems for residents.

— With files from Global’s Brayden Jagger Haines

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