Swift Current continues state of emergency due to flood risk from creek levels
CBC
Swift Current will remain in a state of emergency, as rising waters encroach on the edges of the Swift Current Creek, officials said Saturday.
The city declared the emergency as a proactive measure on Tuesday evening, in response to rising creek levels. The declaration allows the southwestern Saskatchewan city to restrict access to areas that are under flood conditions and to work zones.
The creek's water level is expected to remain high for the next 10 to 14 days, the city said in a Saturday news release.
It also said the Duncairn dam, which feeds the Swift Current Creek, will not be releasing extra water at this time.
"We're at peak levels that we have seen and that we can handle with our system," Swift Current Fire Department Chief Ryan Hunter said Friday evening in a Facebook video.
The water levels match those in 1997 and 2011, which led to flooding in low-lying areas and evacuations, Hunter said.
The city has engineered a more secure water channel to allow more water to flow through the city without evacuations, he said.
Despite that, residents in all low-lying homes are asked to have a 72-hour emergency kit or to-go bag ready in case they are asked to leave their homes.
When Swift Current first declared the emergency, it said the melting snowpack had led the dam to release some water into the creek.
Sandbags are available at the City Service Centre at 2074 South Service Rd. W. and the Lt. Colonel Clifton Centre at 350 Sixth Ave. NE.
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