As heavy rain floods parts of central Alberta, residents speak about local response

As heavy rain floods parts of central Alberta, residents speak about local response

Parts of central Alberta saw over 100 mm of rain since Friday

“It’s very scary living here right now,” says Milly Loewen, one of many residents of Jubilee Landing, a trailer park community in Sherwood Park, Alta.

The community, located roughly 15 kilometres east of Edmonton, is experiencing flooding after days of heavy rain that has also affected many other communities in central Alberta.

Loewen, who is in her 90s, said she is “stranded” inside her home because of the flooding. She said she is nervous that accessing her home and nearby properties will be increasingly difficult, putting her and her neighbour’s safety at risk.

“What if emergency has to come? They’ll bring a boat, I guess,” she told CBC News on Monday as a seemingly endless rush of water filled the street near her home.

Days of heavy rain in Edmonton and surrounding municipalities have pushed wastewater systems to — or in some cases even past — their limits, prompting overland flooding and waterlogged roads on Sunday and into Monday.

Parts of central Alberta saw over 100 millimetres of rainfall over the weekend, prompting several municipalities to issue water supply or overland flooding alerts, including the City of Edmonton. Edmonton’s alert was lifted on Monday night.

Deluge of rain leads to flooding, water restrictions in Edmonton and area

Residents from affected areas have received pleas from officials to limit non-essential water usage in order to reduce strain on local water systems.

The rain was expected to taper off on Monday, before the intense weather system was to weaken and pull away from Alberta, Environment Canada said in a statement early Monday morning.

Jeanette Curtis also lives in Jubilee Landing and is calling on Strathcona County and the trailer park management company, Parkbridge, to take action to prevent damaging floods from happening in the future.

Curtis said she believes the flooding was a result of nearby storm ponds overflowing because of the weekend’s heavy rain.

“We just want to be heard and have the problem fixed,” she said, noting water levels on Saturday were “waist-high.”

In a statement to CBC News on Monday, Jason Casault, the utilities director at Strathcona County, said Jubilee Landing is a privately-owned community that operates its own water, wastewater and stormwater systems, including a storm pond.

But Parkbridge told CBC News the pond is “located outside the community property.”

In a statement, the company said only a small number of homes have been affected by the flooding, but that it is in touch with those affected.

“As is the case in freehold communities, homeowners are responsible for pursuing any flood-related claims through their insurance providers,” the statement read.

The company did not respond to questions asking what efforts were made to prevent the flooding and if the incident has affected its flood prevention strategy.

Casault said the county conducts stormwater system reviews after major rainfall events.

“If the review identifies concerns regarding the private infrastructure, we will share those with the property owners,” he said.

City of Edmonton urges residents to limit non-essential water use

This weekend isn’t the first time Jubilee Landing has flooded, said Curtis, noting worse floods have happened in the past.

“This is mild compared to what it has been.”

Edmonton sees over 100 mm of rainfall since Friday

As of noon on Monday, Edmonton had seen just under 189.9 mm of rain — 104 mm fell since Friday — this month, making it Edmonton’s second-wettest June ever, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Chloe Katsademas.

One more rainy event this month could break the record of 216.5 mm that fell in Edmonton in June 1914, she said.

This rain is both a blessing and a curse, according to Edmontonians who spoke with CBC News on Monday.

Heavy rain pushes Edmonton, neighbouring municipalities to urge stop to non-essential water use

Theresa Loehde told CBC News that the sloped concrete of a nearby infill was pushing pools of water into her yard and her waterproofed basement.

“Thankfully, I do have an unfinished basement, so it's not as big of a deal [as it would be] had it been finished, but still I've got water coming in through the foundation, so that's the main issue at this point,” she said.

Loehde said she has filed a complaint with the city and is hopeful that change can be made.

“The city just needs to really look at these infills and the neighbouring properties and actually assess what can be done to mitigate harm.”

But Lynsey Grosfield, who has built a rain-absorbing garden system, welcomed the wet weather.

Grosfield, the reclamation and horticulture director for the Alberta Native Plant Council, funnelled rainwater from nearby multiplexes in order to nourish the plants in her “makeshift bog,” which she said helped prevent her neighbours from flooding.

Alberta water level forecast looking promising after strong mountain snowpack

Despite welcoming more water into her yard, Grosfield said her basement has stayed bone dry.

“No floods in our basement, which we do get sometimes with winter runoff,” she said. “Nice to see the system preventing our 100-year-old foundation from showing its age.”

In a news release on Monday, the City of Edmonton said “crews are actively inspecting and assessing impacts from the inclement weather.”

Samantha Kyle, who lives near Alcomdale, Alta., took the opportunity to splash around.

The community is around 60 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Kyle told CBC News she had to travel through the flooded areas wearing hip-waders on Sunday before officials from Sturgeon County pumped water away from homes.

Growing up in the region, she said it’s not uncommon for springtime floods to occur in the area since it sits low, but that this weekend’s rain was something else.

“This was like a biblical one-off,” Kyle told CBC News on Monday. “I've never seen rain like that.”

She said she and her family took advantage of the rain over the weekend after seeing her friend get “the beers and the dinghy out” to go paddling in their yard.

“Once I saw that … I was like, ‘Well, OK, let's get the kayak out.’ Might as well.”

Start of summer marked by rainy weather in Alberta

Iman Janmohamed is a reporter with CBC Edmonton. She previously worked as a digital editor for The Globe and Mail in Toronto and Vancouver. She is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors. You can reach her at Iman.Janmohamed@cbc.ca.

With files from Tristan Mottershead, Wallis Snowdon, Emma Zhao, Liam Harrap and Michelle Bellefontaine