Rainstorm, flash flooding hit Weyburn

By Trillian Reynoldson

Some streets in the city of Weyburn are now covered in water due to heavy rains Monday night.

There have been reports of flooding in some buildings. As of 7 a.m., Weyburn had received  82 millimetres of rain.

The city is still seeing some rain come down, and according to Environment Canada, Weyburn could see another five millimetres Tuesday.

Weyburn Mayor Marcel Roy spoke with 980 CJME about the situation on Tuesday morning.

“In my rain gauge, I had a little over four inches,” Roy said. “A few blocks to the west, they had over five inches of rain. So, there are certain areas that are most certainly having problems.”

He said some basements were likely flooded, and the sewer system is a major issue.

“One of the big problems we’ve had is that since the flood we had in 2011, people put in sump pumps and then they started pumping into the sewer instead of pumping into their lawns. So that has just added to the overwhelming of the whole sewer system,” Roy explained.

“So now we’re telling people your sump pumps should be shot out onto the lawn.”

He’s also asking people to cut back on their water use to make it easier on the sewers.

That being said, Weyburn people won’t need to go to work smelling bad.

“We’re asking people to restrict their use — not so much showers, but just washing the laundry and anything like that. We still have to have hygiene,” he said.

Roy also said the city will soon start dumping raw sewage into the river.

“(We’ll do it) just to try to alleviate so much of the stuff that’s going on. Everything’s just overflooding right now. We’re just a little bit overwhelmed,” Roy said.

Things could also get worse.

“I don’t know if we’ve seen any of the headwaters of this rain surge through town yet either. So that’s another surge that’s going to be coming … as it makes its way down through the river channels,” he continued.

It’s unknown at this time when people can return to normal water use.