Areas throughout Manitoba have been hit hard by recent rainfall, but the city of Morden looks like it’s one of the province’s wettest spots, with the local weather station registering a whopping 91 mm over the past 24 hours.
Morden Mayor Brandon Burley says the influx of water means a challenge for the city’s sewer system. Residents are being asked to curb their water usage to help deal with the surge.
“We can actively monitor volume in our sewer system,” Burley told 680 CJOB.
“When we get to the point where we can’t take on water and it’s back-flowing into people’s basements, that’s where we need to take a step back and stop running dishwashers, laundry machines, and perhaps having showers and baths.”
Burley said several residents have already experienced sewer backups due to the rainstorm, but he’s optimistic the worst of the wet weather is in the city’s rear-view.
Conserving water is nothing new for Morden residents, but Burley said the current situation is in sharp contrast to what the community faced a year ago, when a similar ask was put out to conserve water due to unusually low levels on nearby Lake Minnewasta.
“We’re still happy to have the lake full,” he said.
“(The excess water) does pose a serious problem, but it’s one that we hope is not long-lasting, one which is slightly easier from the city’s perspective to navigate than it would with a full loss of water.
“We’re in a position now where we can’t seem to get rid of water, and the heat isn’t coming, whereas last summer, all we could get was arid, dry temperatures.”