Pierrefondsroxboro mayor has an eye on the waters
As if dealing with a pandemic wasn’t enough to keep Jim Beis awake at night, the mayor of Pierrefonds-roxboro is also keeping a close eye on the swift-flowing Rivière des Prairies and water levels further upstream.
After sandbagging their way through devastating spring floods in 2017 and 2019, Beis said local residents are praying for a reprieve this year.
“We’ve got our fingers crossed, as always,” he said.
Despite rainy weather this week, the mayor said water levels are stable and below flood warning levels.
“Experts don’t foresee a major flood this year, but I’m not going by what anybody tells me,” Beis said.
“Even though we’re far from any potential flooding, we have to prepare our interventions, make sure equipment is ready, knowing when the sandbagging will start. It’s all orchestrated in a way to best utilize our time and not have us running around like chickens.”
The mayor said the borough has begun taking precautionary measures by moving heavy equipment into place in spots hit hard by previous floods — just in case.
“What we’ve done at the borough is put 20 pumps on standby, two that are installed, just ready to be switched on if they have to. We’ve stockpiled additional equipment, like those blow-up booms and water gates. I’ve bought even more and I’m waiting for other shipments.”
Beis is dreading the thought of a flood during the COVID-19 pandemic. “You have to take into consideration I won’t be able to mobilize staff and volunteers like I did in 2019,” he said.
“I’m also working with a skeleton city staff now (during the pandemic). Certainly, we don’t want to put everyone in danger either, especially the volunteers.”
With social distancing protocols in effect, assembling armies of volunteers for sandbagging duties, as in past floods, will not be feasible this year, Beis said.
The borough is looking at more efficient alternatives, should tens of thousands of sandbags be needed. “We’re looking at machines that produce hundreds, if not thousands, of sandbags at a moment’s notice, without having 5,000 to 10,000 volunteers on site,” Beis said.
“And where it took 30 people for four days to put up a wall, now with a lot of these modular systems that are stockpiled and continue to be stockpiled, it may take only a fraction of employees to do it.”
Officials in Ste-anne-de-bellevue are also keeping an eye on water levels.
“There is no flooding at Steanne’s at this time,” city manager Martin Bonhomme said Friday, “but we are getting ready just in case something happens later in the months ahead.”