Traffic is moving freely again on Highway 513 where it meets Range Road 14-3 in the MD of Taber Monday afternoon.
Just two days earlier, spring runoff left a section of the roadway underwater.
Both the town of Taber and the county of Forty Mile are warning residents and drivers that overland flooding is affecting multiple roads.
“In southern Alberta, we usually get the winds that blow the snow away, but this year we’ve had an accumulation of snow and cooler weather until this weekend,” said Stewart Payne, director of emergency management for the county of Forty Mile.
According to the MD, flooding is mostly in the southeast portion of the district, while Forty Mile officials say the snow melt is concentrated near Foremost, Alta.
“The county assisted the village of Foremost and some landowners with building a berm at the south end of the village to prevent water from flowing directly into Foremost,” Payne said.
“We did have a call late Saturday night from St. Mary River Irrigation District, indicating their main canal was overflowing and the overflow water was impacting some landowners and residences in the Bow Island, Alta. area. We sent some crews up there to assess and let landowners know there was risk.”
“That issues is becoming under control,” said Payne.
County crews spent the weekend closing roads overtopped by water and continue monitoring the situation.
According to Payne, the flood risk around Foremost is subsiding, but the concerns have now shifted.
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“There’s considerably more snow east of Foremost than there was at Foremost, so as the weather continues to warm up, all that will start to melt,” Payne said.
Both municipalities are encouraging those in the affected areas to remain on high alert.
“They should be monitoring their own land and access to their residences,” Payne said.
“As a municipality we are concerned for the safety and well-being of our public,” a statement from the MD of Taber reads in part.
“The purpose of these types of notifications is to ensure that motorists are aware of these problem areas when they do arise and to travel slowly using extreme caution, or to use an alternate route where possible.”
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