By Charles Lefebvre

Some relief for flooding in the County of 40 Mile, but state of local emergency remains

Apr 17, 2018 | 12:11 PM

FOREMOST, AB — A local state of emergency remains in place for the County of 40 Mile due to overland flooding in the area, though the region has seen a bit of relief as of Tuesday morning.

Crews have been hard at work since the weekend, working to relieve pressure on the canal at 40 Mile Reservoir. According to the St. Mary River Irrigation District and Reeve Steve Wikkerink with the County, water in the canal has dropped approximately three feet since last night, as crews removed ice jams and worked to divert water.

“That’s a huge relief for everybody,” said Wikkerink over the phone on Tuesday morning. “SM’s staff, their operators, have been putting in around the clock since Saturday night working on this.”

More than 20 backhoes have been working on the reservoir to clear ice and snow, said Terrence Lazurus, general manager of St. Mary River Irrigation District.

One home was evacuated Monday night as a precaution, says Wikkerink, who adds there are no other homes currently at risk.

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Wikkerink adds the state of local emergency will remain in effect, noting the county is not out of the woods yet. Although cooler temperatures are in the forecast for the next couple of days, the weekend is expected to get warmer by Saturday and Sunday, and the county is also concerned about flood water from Taber flowing into their region.

“There’s a lot of water yet to come, so if the forecast stays as it says and we get those four really warm days going into the weekend and into Sunday, it won’t be pretty out here again,” he said.

Wikkerink says 20 roads have been closed in the county as of Tuesday, and more could be closed by the evening.

The current list of roads closed includes the following, according to the county’s website, as of 2:50 p.m.

-RR 101 between TWP 92 & TWP94
-RR 101 between TWP 94 & TWP 100
-RR 105 Between TWP  80 & TWP 82
-RR 105 between TWP 94 & TWP  92
-RR 110 between  Twp 50 & TWP 52
-RR 115 between TWP 100 & TWP 102
-RR 115 between TWP 74 & TWP 80
-RR 120 Between TWP 62 & HWY 61
-RR 120 between TWP 82 & Twp 84
-RR 120 Between TWP 90 & TWP 84
-RR 122 between TWP 90 & TWP 94
-RR 124 between  TWP 100 & TWP 102
-RR 125  between TWP 74 &TWP 80
-RR 125  TWP 44 intersection
-RR 125 Between HWY 61  & TWP 62
-RR 130 Between TWP 80 & TWP 82
-RR 90 Between TWP 44 & TWP50
-RR 93 between  Hwy 61 & TWP 52
-RR 95 Between TWP  80 &TWP 82
-TWP 100 between RR 103& RR 110
-TWP 104  between  RR 120 & RR 121
-TWP 104  between  RR 122 & RR 123
-TWP 24 Between RR 63 & RR 75
-TWP 44 between RR 123 & RR 132
-TWP 50 between HWY 879 & RR 113
-Twp 55 Between Hwy 885& RR  93
-TWP 63 Btween RR 103 & RR 104
-TWP 74 Between 879 & RR 112
-TWP 74 between RR 123 & 125
-TWP 82 Between RR 122 & RR  130
-TWP 82 Between RR 122& RR  123
-TWP 82 Btween RR120 & RR 121
-TWP 84  between  RR 115 & RR  120
-TWP 92 between RR 104 & RR 110
-TWP 92 between RR 121 & RR 123

Range Road 111 between Township Road 94 & 100 has reopened.