Recognizing that flooding is a constant, costly and time consuming misery for many residents, Penhold town council moved Aug. 8 to construct a $75,000 pipe diversion system in the north end that will hopefully redirect as much as one third of flood waters away from the problem plagued south end of town.
But while council accepted Mayor Dennis Cooper’s plea to give residents some hope against the ongoing flooding problem, which has repeatedly damaged homes and unsettled the lives of scores of residents in recent years, an initiative by the mayor to suspend infrastructure spending of $443,106 for phase one of the Waskasoo Avenue construction project was defeated by council.
“Because of the ongoing (flooding) problems in town I just can’t support this. We have to deal with the drainage issues in town before we build a road,” said Cooper.
However, Coun. Danielle Klooster reminded Cooper and rest of council the town had a legal responsibility to proceed with the Waskasoo project as the municipality has already entered into a contract with a private company to proceed with the work. Council then moved to proceed with the of $443,106 contract but it did agree not to proceed with a separate $162,229 road capping improvement expenditure for the Waskasoo project.
However, funding for that work is coming from the provincial government and if the town wants to use the $162,229 for flood control it has to reapply for grant funds, a process that could take at least several months and even well into 2012.
But there will be immediate relief to the flooding issue as council did approve a motion to spend $75,000 for a new 50-metre long, 375-mm wide pipe system that originates at the intersection of Lucina Street and Robinson Avenue and directs flood water into the Hawkridge storm pond at Lucina and Waskasoo Way. The plan is to get flood waters now moving southeast redirected to a more secure location northeast, said Cooper.
“We believe it will have a significant impact,” said Rick Binnendyk, the town’s chief administrative officer. He said the work will begin immediately and will be completed some time in September. “We don’t believe it will be the final answer. We are working on other options.”
Coun. Heather Klein said she had problems with the “spot fix” pipe plan in the north as there were no guarantees it would work.
However, both Cooper and Binnendyk admitted the fix at Lucina and Robinson was only a temporary solution, adding that engineers are hoping to report back to the town and council this fall with a plan that will finally solve most if not all of the flooding issues in Penhold. Council later passed a motion for engineers to work on a permanent solution and bring it back to council with a cost estimate.
“It may mean putting in another pump system,” said Cooper outside council. Last year the town spent $500,000 installing a pump system to relieve flood pressure to residents in the area of Lincoln Street and Dundee Crescent.
The latest flood on July 26 overwhelmed residences in the area of the Robinson Avenue – Lee Street intersection.
Cooper made a slide presentation of the flooding to council. He said he toured several areas, including flooded streets and alleys, and said as many as 10 homes were damaged.
“It was a very informative move for me,” said Cooper. “The water was six inches deep in the alleys and draining onto the street but they were overwhelmed. “We have solved water problems before and we have the ability to solve them again.”
