Sask. communities react positively to provincial disaster assistance changes

Residents in Saskatchewan are favourable towards the new Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) changes announced on Thursday.

The province said the changes aim to better help individuals and businesses that have been affected by recent flooding in the province and other disasters.

As of July 10, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said it had received 107 approved designations through the PDAP – a number well above the 10-year average of 43 approved designations by the agency.

Read more:

• Crops in province catching up thanks to more sun, less rain in Sask.: Crop report
• Saskatchewan reports 46 active wildfires, crews continue containment efforts
• ‘Camping without the tent’: Rural Sask. residents spend days without power after storms

Fish Creek reeve, Ryan Sawitzky, said the changes could help municipalities tackle long-standing drainage issues instead of simply repairing the same roads after every flood.

“Some of them have been asking us for years,” Sawitzky said of flood-prone areas. “Now with this announcement we might be able to help alleviate some of that water issues.”

He said better drainage infrastructure, including strategically placed culverts and improved water management, could help keep water away from roads and farmyards before damage occurs.

“It’s maybe just controlling the water to go a different way to get to the end result to avoid getting to a farmyard,” he said.

Sawitzky said the municipality is still assessing the full extent of the damage months after spring flooding, with recent rainfall creating new problems.

“It’s still an ongoing thing for us,” he said. “We thought the one road would have been a simple fix, and in the last couple weeks it’s completely let go.”

It’s still too early to put a final price tag on the repairs, Sawitzky shared, but one project alone is expected to exceed the municipality’s annual revenue.

“The big one that we’re talking about here on the River Road that one exceeds our gross revenue income.”

He said the flooding has also affected day-to-day operations inside the municipality.

“The guys have been spread thin,” he said. “We’re behind on blading roads, getting to the back roads.”

–with files from 980 CJME’s Jacob Bamhour and 650 CKOM’s Marija Robinson