After so many long, cold winter months, Manitobans tend to excitedly usher in the warmer temperatures that come with spring. With these temperatures come melting snow, and sometimes flooding.
If you’ve lived in Niverville for a while, flooding isn’t totally new to you. No one is likely to forget the infamous flood of 1997, when the Red River crept right up to our town’s proverbial doorstep.
That was an extreme case, but as homeowners it’s always good to be proactive in ensuring our basements stay dry.
“Ensure your downspouts on your eaves extend away from your house and are not clogged with leaves or debris,” says Mayor Myron Dyck. “One wants to have water directed away from the foundation… Make sure that your home has weeping tile around the foundation. This combo, with a sump pump, will direct ground water away.”
Flooding can occur from melting snow, but also heavy bouts of rain. Last August 29, Niverville received seven inches of rain within an hour and several dozen homes suffered flood damage.
Most of Niverville is flat, but a few areas are slightly more prone to flooding. “These are Roselawn Bay and Vista Cove area,” says Dyck.
Last summer, the town put a new policy in place for homeowners. “The public works building provides sandbags and sand,” he says. “You will need to pick up the materials, but they are provided free of charge to residents who may want to put a layer or two around their house to prevent water from ditches and such creeping up their yards and into their window wells.”
The town is taking two actions to ensure residents incur less damage. “First of all, the town has purchased some fixed and mobile generators to ensure that our lift stations that pump out the sewer system can continue to operate in the event of a power failure. Secondly, the town is just tendering out a project in the next couple of weeks that will see water flow [under] the railway tracks. This will allow water in the ditches to move faster as the rail bed and the existing culverts have been a bottle neck where water can only flow so quickly… Council is optimistic that construction will begin on that project this year.”
If flooding does occur, contact your insurance agent right away.
