Cleanup begins in Arborfield
Huge sandbags hold back the water, much of town still submerged
ARBORFIELD Steve Gray was in Saskatoon with his pregnant wife for a doctor’s appointment when a neighbour called to tell him his home in Arborfield was threatened by flood water.
His neighbours tried to save his home by sandbagging the windows, he said, but by the time he got home Monday night there was 1.5 metres of flood and sewer water in his basement. It destroyed everything, he said.
“I didn’t think it was going to be this bad,” said Gray, who was spattered with mud Wednesday as he worked to clean up his home. “The water was running right through the front door.”
On Wednesday, the flood waters were receding, but large parts of the 400-person town were still submerged.
Trucks sprayed plumes of water into the air as they drove through the town’s east side, where Gray’s home is located.
Massive sandbag barricades were all that kept a still healthy flow of water from further ravaging the town.
When his two large water pumps were finally able to overcome the influx of water, Gray began removing his destroyed possessions.
“That’s what’s left of my wife’s piano,” he said as he pointed to a waterlogged chunk of wood with pegs and wire attached to it.
OUT-OF-TOWN HELP
Helping him clean out his home were his parents, neighbours and a complete stranger.
The volunteer helper, Nathan Phillips, said he heard about the flooding and decided to drive from his home in Tisdale to pitch in.
“I had my basement flood, years ago,” Phillips said. “I kind of understand what they have to go through.”
Phillips wasn’t the only out-oftowner to offer help. People from Carrot River, Zenon Park, Nipawin and Aylsham came to Arborfield residents’ aid, said Ashley Gray, a town councillor and Steve Gray’s brother.
Approximately 30-40 per cent of homes experienced some kind of flooding, but 20-25 homes on the east side of town were hit the hardest, he said.
The town’s drinking water had not been compromised, he said.
The evacuation order has been lifted for the west side of the town, but still remains in effect for its east side.
CULVERTS COLLAPSED
Arborfield’s problems began when the sewer system began to back up after heavy rain, Ashley Gray said.
Things became more serious when Burntout Brook, a creek east of Arborfield, started flowing at record levels and burst its banks.
“There’s approximately one-in200-year flows ... It hasn’t been recorded (before) ... It could be higher than that, “said Patrick Boyle of the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency.
On Wednesday, Burntout Brook was flowing at 61 cubic feet per second, which is slightly less than Tuesday, he said.
The brook, which flows through a valley, normally runs through culverts under a road traversing the valley, said Duane McKay, commissioner of emergency management with government relations
The extreme water flows became dammed behind the road for more than a kilometre until the water rose more than seven metres and breached the road, causing the culverts to collapse, McKay said.
“About 90 feet (27 metres) let loose (Tuesday),” he said.
Arborfield has started to see the arrival of “significant equipment and personnel,” including crews from the Ministry of the Environment, rapid response teams and civil service reserve. They’ve established command posts, with large vehicles, pumps and sandbags.
“Things are progressing there. With water flows beginning to mitigate there, plans will be made to get people back into their homes and start looking at damage that might have been caused there,” McKay said.
STATE OF EMERGENCY
Five Saskatchewan communities, including Arborfield and the RM of Arborfield, declared a state of emergency after extreme flooding this week.
It’s unclear how many people have been displaced by the flooding and evacuations but emergency social services is supporting 36 people from three communities, including 15 from Estevan, 10 from Arborfield and 11 from Shoal Lake Cree Nation.
Estevan, Arborfield, Carrot River and the Shoal Lake Cree Nation have sought the provincial help that comes with the declarations after receiving more than 100 millimetres of rain between Sunday and early Wednesday, Boyle said.
The ground in those areas was already saturated from nine days of rain so the deluge could only run off.
The Pasqua River at Highway 9 is flowing at a rate that hasn’t been seen in 50 years, Boyle said.
REMEDIATION WORK
Estevan is “starting to improve substantially,” with flood waters receding as lift stations catch up, allowing low water in streets and basements to clear out, McKay said.
Carrot River is still having problems with its septic system.
Other municipalities and First Nations with problems short of being a state of emergency are being referred to help under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program.
Road flooding has caused concerns about getting into and out of three First Nations: Red Earth, Shoal Lake and Cumberland House and the town of Cumberland House.
Some people with special health concerns have been temporarily moved lest they need help that can’t get to them.
“When a community is isolated, that does cause problems for emergency vehicles,” McKay said.