Water rose to the edge of driveways Tuesday morning as water from the South Glens storm pond made its way to the intersection of 97 Street and 79 Avenue. – Stephen Dafoe Photo
By noon waters had risen a little higher. A CTV cameraman can be seen in the left of photo. – Lucie Roy Photo
By Stephen Dafoe
Morinville – Rising waters on 97 Street and 79 Avenue in South Glens prompted many phone calls to Town of Morinville offices Tuesday as well as a visit from Edmonton’s CTV to investigate the matter.
Melting snow caused a storm pond in the Morinville subdivision to overflow and make its way into the intersection of the two streets as well as backyards. That water had risen to the edge of driveways by Tuesday morning. As of 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Town Administration indicated the waters were already receding and that they would be continuing to work through the night to reduce them more.
Town Administration, in a press release issued Tuesday afternoon, said water had been flowing from a field back into the storm pond because the pond water level is lower than the field water level. Public Works believes the water was not flowing quickly enough through Sturgeon County culverts and ditches because of the volume of melting snow and the possibility of ice blockages.
Although South Glens storm water pond has two pumps, when water levels equalized between the field and the pond they were working redundantly as the water was coming straight back in to the storm water pond.
Administration said Public Works damned the culvert between South Glens storm water pond and the field in Sturgeon County (where flowing water drains) to prevent the water coming back into South Glens. That work was completed by 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Additionally, water is being pumped from South Glens Phase 1 and Phase 2 into Phase 3 so it will drain into the transportation ditch, which is melted and flowing well.
Public Works staff will be providing 24-hour pumping service to divert water until water levels drop considerably. The Town will deliver a letter to residents notifying them of possible noise from the pumps through the night.
It is expected as temperatures increase, water will flow better downstream, resulting in lower water levels.
Editor’s Note: We anticipate an update tot he story after tonight’s Council meeting.
Above: A resident inspects how far the water had risen overnight onto a neighbour’s property. Below: 97 Street and 79 Avenue around 9:30 Tuesday morning.
South Glens used to be swamp every spring. So what else would you expect
I’d expect a good water flow system to be in place. Engineering department failed here, I think. This falls on the developer and the development office who gave permits.