Released on July 9, 2014
The Ministry of Government Relations, in collaboration with various government ministries, agencies, Crown corporations and stakeholder groups, are providing updates on the key steps the province and its partners are taking in response to the record rainfall, flood and recovery operations occurring eastern Saskatchewan.Ministry of Government Relations
The Ministry of Government Relations has established a reception centre in the community of Crooked Lake to provide support and coordinate mitigation efforts with local residents affected by flooding.
EMFS staff and provincial rapid response teams supported by Ministry of Environment crews have been deployed to Shesheep First Nation, Crooked Lake, Round Lake, Bird’s Point, Kannata Valley, Rowan’s Ravine, Round Lake, Glen Harbour and Last Mountain Regional Park to support mitigation efforts.
Regional Recovery Centres, providing area residents with valuable post-flood information and expertise will be open in the following communities:
- Carnduff – July 8 to 11;
- Moosomin – July 9 to 11;
- Grenfell – July 11 to 12;
- Esterhazy – July 16 to 18;
- Balcarres – July 16 to 18; and
- Yorkton – July 18 to 20.
PDAP is designed to help residents, small businesses, agricultural operations, communal organizations, nonprofit organizations, parks and communities recover from the effects of natural disasters. PDAP staff will be on hand at regional recovery centres across the province to assist residents through the claims process and work with local officials.
In total 88 communities, including four First Nations have received PDAP designations. As of July 9, there are 427 PDAP claims filed.
For more information on PDAP, or to begin the claims process contact, 1-866-632-4033, or visit http://gr.gov.sk.ca/PDAP.
Water Security Agency
With all the flooding that has occurred, water quality in lakes and rivers in affected areas may be impaired due to runoff from agricultural operations and unplanned sewage releases from flooded communities and flooded septic systems.
The Ministry of Health in conjunction with the local health regions will be monitoring beaches in these affected areas to determine if the water is safe for recreational purposes.
Qu’Appelle Lakes
All lakes are now receding except for Last Mountain Lake.
- Buffalo Pound Lake – 509.92 m
- Last Mountain Lake – 491.52 m (rising), expected to peak at 491.6
- Echo Lake – 479.74 m
- Katepwa Lake – 478.83 m
- Crooked Lake – 453.75 m
- Round Lake – 445.26 m
- Good Spirit Lake – 485.55 m, continues to rise and should not exceed 485.6 m.
- Fishing Lake - 530.59 m, should not exceed 530.65 m.
- WSA is advising the public of high lake levels on Emma and Christopher Lakes in northern Saskatchewan.
- The above normal amounts of precipitation this year have pushed a number of lakes above their normal operating range and to some of the highest levels on record.
- Emma and Christopher Lakes are well above their maximum desirable operating levels.
- Emma Lake is currently at 516.04 m which is 0.47m above the normal summer operating range. Christopher Lake is currently at 515.12 m which is 0.31 m above the normal summer operating range.
Ministry of Highways
The Ministry of Highways continue to repair washouts, failed culverts and other damage in order to reopen flooded highways to traffic. In most cases, the initial repairs will be temporary in nature. Motorists can expect rough patches, soft spots, reduced speeds and weight restrictions.
Current road conditions, including traffic restrictions are available on the Highway Hotline at:
- www.saskatchewan.ca
- 1-888-335-7623
Ministry of Agriculture
The Agriculture Knowledge Centre (1-866-457-2377) is available to respond to concerns from farmers and ranchers regarding the flooding situation, and to provide agronomic information and program advice. Anyone dealing with the aftermath of flooding can use the government’s Farm Stress Line, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for confidential telephone counselling at 1-800-667-4442.
Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation
Producers have started to call their local Crop Insurance offices to report crop flooded from the recent heavy rain event.
As of July 8, 2014, SCIC has received 239 pre-harvest claims from producers.* A pre-harvest claim is filed when the producer decides not to take the damaged crop to harvest and puts the land to an alternate use.
All Crop Insurance customers are covered for flooding through the multi-peril yield-loss program. The majority of claims from the heavy rain event will be filed in the fall, following harvest, as producers measure whether their actual crop production meets their insured production.
Prior to June 20, 2014, and the heavy rain event, producers had registered 6,207 unseeded acreage claims. SCIC is currently processing these claims and will begin making payments to producers in the near future.
*The claim figures provided are subject to change based on further verification and inspection.
SaskEnergy
SaskEnergy continues to closely monitor all water body crossing in affected areas. Increased water levels and flow can cause erosion of river beds exposing our pipeline. SaskEnergy asks the public for their help: if you think you smell natural gas or are aware of a potential pipeline washout, please call SaskEnergy at 1-888-700-0427.
SaskEnergy turned off gas service to 650 homes in flooded communities. Over 350 services are now restored as it was confirmed safe to do so with approximately 300 remaining off.
On July 4, SaskEnergy shut off the gas mains into the Crooked Lake and Round Lake Resort Areas impacting a further 160 customers. An operational plan is currently being developed for the safe restoration of service to Crooked and Round Lake. This plan will include damage inspection and leak surveys.
Customers should not attempt to restore natural gas service themselves or relight appliances. Please contact SaskEnergy at 1-888-700-0427 to arrange to have gas service turned back on.
If there has been water contact with appliances, homeowners should contact a certified gas contractor for inspection. If customers do not know of a certified gas contractor, they can find one in their area by going to www.SaskEnergy.com and click on Network members. If water has not contacted their gas appliances and the basement is fully dry, they can contact SaskEnergy directly and we will restore service.
Field staff continue to respond to several situations where emergency locates are required. If arranging for any emergency ground disturbance (ditching or trenching), contact Sask 1st Call. Responding to these requests in flooded areas is a priority.
SaskPower
SaskPower is present in mobile command posts to assist residents with the safe restoration of electricity. There are only a few remaining outages due to weather events; these are being handled one-by-one for safety reasons and crews are involved. SaskPower has disconnected services to a total of 114 residents affected by flooding to ensure safety. We will work with those residents to restore power safely as quickly as possible.
If you have had water damage to your property and have not yet contacted SaskPower, please call our flood line at 1-888-757-6937.
We remind residents to stay away from fallen power lines and never to attempt to remove trees from lines. Call 310-2220 to report an outage and crews will be dispatched to handle the situation safely.
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For more information, contact:
Jay Teneycke
Government Relations
Regina
Phone: 306-798-6095
Email: jay.teneycke@gov.sk.ca