Following some of the worst flooding of area streets he’s seen in 30 years as a town resident, Penhold’s mayor said the town’s drainage issues must be addressed immediately.
Dennis Cooper was on scene at 5 a.m. July 26 after heavy rain led to flooding of the Robinson Ave.- Lee St. intersection. Cooper said 2.2” of rain fell in less than two hours and quickly overwhelmed the town’s drainage system.
“That has become the lowest point of the system to collect,” he said. “Since it’s the lowest point it pools up out of the system and floods that intersection.”
Cooper said a number of homes in the immediate area suffered some minor flooding to their basements and will need to be restored. He spent a few hours chatting with area residents and dropped off provincial disaster information for homeowners who were unable to make claims through their insurance company.
First Call Restorations spokesperson Darcy Zenkawich confirmed the company is currently working on five homes in the community after they suffered damage in the latest flood.
Cooper said the flooding issue would be on the agenda when town council meetings resume on Aug. 8. He said some options that could be examined include diverting the water, building another drainage route, or finding ways to move more water in a faster and more efficient way.
“It’s all connected. We’re getting water that’s coming from the west side of town being put into the east side system,” he said. “It’s basically just like taking two five-gallon pails and trying to pour it into one. What happens is until the one side stops draining the system can’t handle the water it’s getting.”
For Penholder Sybil MacGregor, the fifth flooding incident at her home on Robinson Ave. in four years has pushed her to the breaking point.
“I’m just choked,” she said July 27. “I don’t know which way to turn.”
When MacGregor’s husband, Bob, got up for work at 3:30 a.m. on July 26, he discovered water lapping at the front steps of the couple’s home, which is located just south of Lee St.
“He looked out the front door and we were floating,” she recalled, explaining they had just recently finished repairs to their basement following another flood earlier this year. “Every time it floods it gets worse, worse, worse. We did everything that we could do but when the water is up to your doorstep, how do you get rid of (it)?”
MacGregor said about eight inches of water flooded her home’s basement after coming up through the sump pump.
“The sump can’t keep up when you have a yard-full of water,” she said.
A day after the flood restoration workers had already removed sections of drywall and the new carpeting the MacGregors had just recently had installed. The hum of fans working overtime to dry out the basement echoed throughout the home. MacGregor’s new car, which she purchased only two weeks ago, has been written off after suffering significant water and electrical damage in the flood.
The MacGregors are currently staying at a Red Deer hotel at the advice of their insurance company. Sybil, who suffers from asthma, said the stay could last anywhere from two weeks to three months.
Jo-Ann Grimwood, MacGregor’s neighbour, said while she is hopeful the issue will finally be addressed she believes town council is more concerned with spending $500,000 to upgrade and pave the multiplex road. Grimwood had appeared before council in April, asking councillors to develop a plan to address the flooding issue.
“I guess in a way it sounds like there is progress,” Grimwood said last week. “But I’m just hoping the mayor isn’t the only one for this and all the rest are against it. That’s where I’m worried.”
Cooper said he campaigned on dealing with the flooding issue and while it has dropped down town council’s priority list, he thinks council and administration will now see the need to identify where all the problem areas are located.
“When something like this happens it costs the town a lot of money,” Cooper said. “We had to call out vacuum trucks to vacuum out our sewage system because it fell behind with all the water infiltration it was getting.”
The community has addressed similar flooding issues with success in the past, Cooper said. The intersection of Lincoln St. and Dundee Cres. used to flood to a depth of five feet before the town spent about $500,000 installing a pump system last year, he said.
“We sat down, figured it out and fixed it,” he said. “It moved all the water efficiently out of that area and put it in the storm pond. It may be a situation where we might have to do the same to pump the water out. We’re relying on gravity to move the water right now. We may have to pull it out.”
