With the spring melt coming and going with frequent snowfalls and temperature rises, the waterways of Airdrie saw some cases of flooding in the years before. This year, however, will be different.

 Team lead with Water Services with the city Glenn Archer said that due to a light snowfall this past winter and proactive work from the city, Airdrie won't be seeing major flooding.

"This year, we're not expecting a big melt because there was not a lot of snow. There is a fair amount of ice on the ponds and so forth, but they should melt and clear off in a pretty straightforward fashion. Unlike last year, where we had a deep snowpack, this year we don't. Not in town."

"Last year we had hundreds of calls and hundreds of events and in this year we've had dozens," recalled Archer

Archer explained that the key to preventing situations like last year is being proactive and preventing ice build up

"We look for ice (...) in culverts. Where the water would normally flow sometimes it can't flow through its normal channels so we go and inspect. If they need to be steamed out or drained out, we do in the big culverts. For catch basins and normal areas like that, we rely largely on the public. If they see a problem close to their house, a lot of people just go out and chip a little bit of ice and get the water flowing. For the most part, the ice is gone and it's not really a problem at this point. It was quite a remarkably quick drain and thaw this year, although the ground itself is still frozen quite deep in terms of frost."

Archer reassured residents that if the water in front of their homes isn't pooling, there isn't a problem.

"If the water in front of their house is draining, the little bit of water we have seen and (...) the rainwater is going away, they should be comfortable that that's working. If the water seems to be pooling, then they should feel free to give us a call and we'll go over and check it out. There are some areas where the water is intended to back up a little bit. What that means is that the water is impounded or retained so that it's allowed to drain slowly and doesn't overwhelm the system. But, if they see water coming up onto their property, then that's time to give us a call."

Archer said the city will stay on alert to prevent any areas from flooding

"We are being proactive as much as we can to prevent the areas that we know that have been shown to cause freeze up problems."

 

Comments? Questions? Story ideas? Email us at news@discoverairdrie.com