City of Red Deer parks crews have a massive cleanup on their hands after flooding caused a mess at one of Red Deer’s most popular parks.
Piper Creek had flowed over 43rd Street and into Rotary Park earlier this week and as a result, crews had to reinforce some of the creek bank with sandbags behind both Port O’Call Safeway and Red Deer Lodge.
Parks Superintendent Trevor Poth said the flooding has since subsided, but now there is a lot of cleanup.
“It’s a pretty big mucky mess down there,” said Poth on Wednesday.
The water crossed the parking lot, the trails and came all the way up to the shelter and near the water well of the site.
The washroom facility, the trails and all the picnic areas have a few cm of sediment and silts.
Mother Nature will play a role in how quickly the cleanup gets done, Poth said.
“We’re not certain this is the end of the flood, either,” said Poth.
The weather forecast over the next few days calls for periods of snow. Plus, there’s still a lot of snow to melt outside the Piper Creek region, Poth added.
“We’re definitely not going to set any dates that we have to get it cleaned up,” he said. “
But as soon as we can get in there, we’ll be cleaning.”
The goal is to have the park, like the other city parks, formally opened by May long weekend.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com