Churchill Park dry storm pond aims to reduce flooding

A new dry storm pond in Saskatoon’s Churchill Park is expected to reduce the potential for flooding in the area.

This is the second pond built for the purpose, and it first opened in June. The city held an event at the pond Thursday to explain more about its purpose.

The first dry storm pond was built in the W.W. Ashley District Park, and seven more are expected to be completed by 2027.
Mitch McMann, the city’s storm water utility manager, said flooding has been a problem for a long time, and the city hopes it has found a solution.

“I wouldn’t say any one storm initiated this,” said McMann. “It’s been a decade-old problem that we are looking forward to rectifying.”

He said the success of W.W. Ashley District Park’s dry storm pond helped spur the opening of the new pond.

“Last year … that dry pond was full to the brim. It had seen about 16,000 cubic metres of storm water,” said McMann. “That was the max capacity, and it prevented flooding for the neighbourhood.”

A poster shared at an event Thursday showed just how quickly the storm pond in Churchill Park can drain water.

Timelapse photo board of how fast the water can be drained. (Will Mandzuk/650CKOM)

The total cost of the project is expected to be $54 million, and according to McMann the project is expected to stay within budget. The city also received $21.6 million from the federal government through its Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said the fund is to help municipalities that don’t have the tools to retrofit after disasters. He said flooding and wildfires can quickly overwhelm a city’s infrastructure.

“These places are saying ‘We don’t have the tools or funding to be able to deal with this kind of damage,'” Clark said.

Construction on the city’s next dry storm pond has already begun in Weaver Park.