'We're doing everything we can': Conmee Township says flood repairs will take time
CBC
The mayor of Conmee said Tuesday warmer weather is needed before repairs to roads damaged by weekend flooding can really get underway.
The township, located about 40 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, declared a state of emergency on Monday due to the flooding, Mayor Kevin Holland said.
"We received significant rainfall over the weekend in the township, and that combined with the heavy snow load on the ground in the ditches and the watercourses caused some water backing up and flooding," Holland said. "It impacted our road infrastructure pretty heavily."
"We had five roads that we had to close sections of because of washouts," he said. "Most of our road inventory received varying degrees of damage as a result of the rain and the flooding."
In addition, Holland said, many residents have reported water damage in their homes due to the flooding.
While repairs are underway, Conmee has a small roads crew, and the weather will have an impact on how repairs are handled, Holland said. Luckily, the forecast calls for warmer weather starting Wednesday, with daytime highs around 5 C this week.
"We need the rising temperatures to dry out the roadbed so we can get in and do some some grading," Holland said. "Right now, with the water levels in the road any attempt is just creating mud and the mess."
"Once that dries out a bit, we will be able to do the grading in the areas where that's all we have to do," he said. "Then we can start hauling in the fill to rebuild the roads that were washed away."
Holland said the state of emergency gave the township the opportunity to tell residents it may be some time before repairs are complete.
"The main reason we declared the state of emergency is we recognize that the extent of the damage, and with the weather and the amount of snow we still have left on the ground, the repairs take longer than what they normally would," Holland said. "We've made the declaration to emphasize that we're in a situation here that's going to take a while, and make sure that people understood."
The state of emergency also lets Conmee call for more resources to help with cleanup and repairs.
Meanwhile, repairs are also continuing in Fort Frances, which declared a state of emergency of its own on Saturday due to a "critical infrastructure failure" in its wastewater treatment system due to heavy rains and flooding.
Patrick Briere, the town's emergency management specialist, said in an email to CBC News that crews have pumped water out of the White Pine Lift Station, which failed during the storm and subsequent flooding.
Crews were working to remove any damaged equipment in the station and begin repairs, he said.
Shopping local may be the desire, but affordability might decide where shoppers spend their money this Christmas season.
As classes across New Brunswick pause for the holidays, it’s not yet clear which schools are making a dent in chronic absenteeism — a stubborn post-pandemic trend that mostly afflicts the high school cohort, especially in the Anglophone West school district.
CBC Quebec has launched its Make the Season Kind campaign. It's our annual campaign that focuses on food insecurity, while also celebrating kindness, generosity and community spirit around the province.
Premier Wab Kinew says Manitoba will hold a public inquiry as soon as 2026 into the former Progressive Conservative government’s post-election efforts to approve an environmental licence for sand-mining company Sio Silica.
Premier Scott Moe has led the Saskatchewan Party through two straight elections, winning majority governments each time.
Eight weeks after adding a GM BrightDrop van to the fleet of his plumbing and heating business, Marty Salliss has no complaints, only praise.
Nearly half of Alberta’s Grade 6 students failed the provincewide math test in 2024, three years after the province started rolling out its new elementary school curriculum.
Toronto could get new cars on the road whose drivers will never get frustrated by gridlock — because the cars would be driving themselves.
Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, some London-area organizations say they have noticed a decline in donations this holiday season.
Prominent northern leaders have been touting the Arctic economic and security corridor as a "nation-building" project that will bring economic benefits to the two territories it straddles, but others are split on how much good will come out of it.
When the federal government tabled its 2025 budget last month, it included a proposal that tax fraud experts say is long overdue — if also a belated acknowledgement that the Canada Revenue Agency has been repeatedly duped into paying out untold millions in bogus tax refunds to scammers.
Talking with an AI chatbot can successfully convince people to change their votes and could affect the outcome of future elections, according to a new study.
While some are writing wishlists for Santa Claus, a group of Newfoundland and Labrador youth are writing their wishlist for the provincial government.