Key Takeaways:
- Some residents are dealing with retention ponds flooding their homes due to a couple of weekend storms that dumped a lot of rain on Winnipeg and Manitoba.
- According to the city, sandbags are available 24 hours a day at 1220 Pacific Avenue, 1090 Thomas Avenue, and 1539 Waverley Street.
Following a couple of weekend storms that dumped a lot of rain on Winnipeg and Manitoba, some residents are now dealing with retention ponds flooding their homes.
Jennifer Lim’s backyard is flooded by water from the neighborhood retention pond. It’s nearly as tall as her chain-link fence, and Amber Trails resident has never seen anything like it.
“This is something else; it’s extreme,” Lim said, hoping that the water would not reach her home. “I’m still having trouble sleeping, and it’s nerve-wracking, to say the least.”
The water is closer to Jay Oza and Brant Bishop’s houses across the pond.
“Out here, it’s like a virtual swimming pool,” Oza said.
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They want the pond to be drained by the city.
“Drop it a few feet to protect our house,” Oza said.
“Because the lakes in the Amber Trails system are so high up, I’m wondering if there’s any way they can spread the load out a little,” Bishop said.
According to the city, retention pond water levels, like rivers, rise with heavy rain and snowmelt.
It said in a statement that all of the city’s ponds had been checked, and the water drainage system was working properly with no blockages.
“The water levels are much higher than normal, but the City is monitoring the ponds daily and doing everything it can to keep the water levels in the ponds under control.”
Councillor Janice Lukes of Waverley West said ponds in her ward are also overflowing.
“They’re all very high,” Lukes said, “and the water and the waste department tell me that all systems are flowing.”
The city advises residents to pick up sandbags from city depots to protect their property’s exterior.
Homeowners in Amber Trails who have been impacted say the city should be delivering them. The neighborhood is considering pooling resources to rent a truck.
“Surprise, surprise, I drive an older mom van, and loading them up isn’t going to be easy for me,” Lim explained.
According to the city, sandbags are obtainable 24 hrs a day at 1220 Pacific Avenue, 1090 Thomas Avenue, and 1539 Waverley Street.
Source: CTV News
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