By paNOW

Crews prepare for worst this weekend as flooding continues

Jun 22, 2013 | 6:18 AM

Flood waters from Alberta will soon make their way downstream into Saskatchewan, wreaking havoc on roads and infrastructure.

Adam Hartle, operation manager for Iron Mountain Construction, said crews will be out this weekend “rigging up and preparing for the worst,” in a news release.

Recent heavy rains and a large outflow of water from Anglin Lake had already caused infrastructure problems around Prince Albert.

“Over the last few days we have seen in three different parts of the Prince Albert area water peaking at all-time highs. With the water team and flood prevention unit gearing up we don’t know what to suspect,” Hartle said in the release.

Work on the Highway 2 washout just north of Prince Albert has begun and Hartle said, “If we’re lucky they should have the bridge done fairly quickly.”

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Work is still underway on the flooded section of Highway 2, between Prince Albert and St. Louis, with Iron Mountain bringing in large pumps which have removed about two inches of water in 14 hours according to an official from the RM of Prince Albert.

“I think from a construction stand point this is going to be a major focus for engineers, city’s, villages and towns for the next years to come, we can possibly see some rather large trenching jobs and culvert upgrades happening. Nothing will be certain until this water consumption depletes,” Hartle said in the release.

The Water Security Agency is continuing to work around the clock and at this point it’s hard to say how long the flooding will last and what kind of damage will follow.

“Our biggest concern is helping support our government as we see first-hand them working on this all non-stop, these are very major issues that will take some time to sort out,” Hartle said in the release.

Iron Mountain employees will be going through training this weekend to help ensure their response time with setting up water dams and pumps is efficient and timely.

“We do want the community to contact us if they would like for some assessment of property and ideas on what the community can do to prepare for times like this. Having property protected is number two and everyone’s safety is number one. Road building and repairs are last.”

Their 24 hour phone number is: 1-306-261-1150

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow