Lac La Biche County officials are asking for residents' help to reduce the amount of pressure on the municipal wastewater system caused by days of rain.
"At this time, we are dealing with a huge amount of water entering our sanitary sewer system," says Lac La Biche County spokesperson Alex fuller. "Crews are blocking off manholes in affected areas, to keep water flowing into ditches and storm drains instead of into sewers. This is to reduce the burden on our wastewater treatment plant and prevent backups."
Sump it out of the system
County staff asking any residents whose homes have sump pumps that can divert water to either yard or sewer systems, to switch to yard discharge. Municipal officials are also hoping residents can ease the pressure on the wastewater system by reducing the 'water-in / water out' formula.
"We are also asking all residents to do their part by limiting their water consumption," said Fuller.
Municipal crews have been in all areas of the county in the last week, responding to calls of flooding and potential flooding situations.
On Thursday afternoon overland flooding west of the Lac La Biche hamlet forced the closure of a portion of Highway 55, closing the community's main west entrance sending traffic detouring north on the Mission Road and Nashim Drive.
The road remained closed Friday morning, but was open for travel in the afternoon after a temporary bridge was created.
"A temporary bridge structure has been set up so water can be pumped across the highway," said Fuller, adding that motorists need to use caution in the area, "but there is still water on the road surface in places, so residents may wish to continue detouring on Nashim Drive and Mission Road."
Historic rainfall
Rain storms in recent days across much of northeastern Alberta's Lakeland area dropped upwards of four inches, say some area residents. Those living near lakes say waterlevels are now higher than they have seen in almost two decades. One long-time lakeside resident at Beaver Lake says the lake has come up more than eight inches in a week in front of his home.
The high water levels have triggered municipal advisories that began on Thursday when Lac La Biche County officials issued an online message that the main wastewater treatment plant — which has been operating at 50 per cent capacity since a winter equipment failure — is running at its limit.
Two days before, at their weekly council meeting, Lac La Biche County councillors heard that repairs to "baffle mounts" on the walls of one entire side of the wastewater plant were still ongoing. The mounts, which aid in the filtration of suspended solid material in the plant's lagoons, failed last Winter, causing the continued shut down of 50 per cent of the plant. On Tuesday, before the heavy rainfall, municipal officials told councillors the plant could operate without worry at half capacity. The recent rains have put more caution into the assessment.
"If the system is over-taxed, there may be flooding issues throughout the County in areas where underground utilities have been installed," noted Thursday's emergency notice to residents. "If possible, we recommend removing valuables from basements and other spots vulnerable to flooding. Reducing your consumption of water as much as possible will also help the treatment plant keep up."
Municipal officials continue to say their messages are precautionary and that the wastewater plant remains "capable of meeting current demand."
Anyone with details on areas of flooding that is affecting local roadways is encouraged to conact the Lac La Biche County's Transportation department by phone at 780-623-6736, or emailing [email protected].
