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Red Deer monitoring creeks during spring melt

Residents advised to use common sense when approaching ice
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Last April water from Waskasoo Creek overflowed onto 43rd Street near Rotary Park. (File photo by Advocate staff)

Waskasoo Creek looks like it will behave itself as the spring melt gets underway.

Last April Waskasoo Creek overflowed onto 43rd Street near Rotary Park forcing the closure of the street along with the playground and skate park at Rotary Park, Barrett park, and localized flooding in Waskasoo Park. Sandbags were deployed to low areas behind Safeway and Phil’s Family Restaurant near 43rd Street and 49th Avenue, and along 45th Street near Remco Memorials.

Greg Sikora, Red Deer’s public works manager, said creeks are being monitored, and the city is connected to the Alberta Environment stream flow advisory, but it’s a little too early to tell exactly what will happen.

“We don’t have the situation that we had on 43rd Street where we had ice build up that caused some capacity constrictions in the culverts on 43rd Street,” Sikora said on Monday.

The city believes it was a water main leak in southeast Red Deer that caused flooding last year. The water from the leak flowed into a storm catchment and into the creek and froze in place.

“Although there is ice formation, it’s no where near as big as it was last year.”

He said forecasts suggest it’s going to stay warm, but Albertans know that can change quickly. Red Deer typically gets about 20 cm more of snow in March. Right now Red Deer River looks like its open in places, but it’s actually water running on top of the river ice that freezes at night and becomes really flat and smooth.

Because Red Deer River is controlled by the Dickson Dam, there aren’t the dynamic ice breakups that occur on other large rivers either, he said.

“Use some common sense when approaching ice. It can be very difficult to gauge its strength and we don’t want to see people taking unnecessary risks.”

Related:

Flooding potential within Red Deer, Lacombe and Stettler to be assessed

Watch: Flood watch remains for Waskasoo Creek

Sikora said calls will soon start coming in about clogged catch basins, which are the grates on the side of the road where road water drains into a creek or storm sewer system.

“Sometimes those catch basins may have fall leaves stuck on them, or a plastic bag, or they may have some debris that fell into them and plugged them up and we’ll come out and clean them.”

People can call public works at 403-342-8238 or report it online at reddeer.ca/reportaproblem.



szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com

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