Water drainage woes upset Lockport Road residents

St. Andrews resident Jim DeVries stands in front of a culvert on Lockport Road hidden behind sediment and untrimmed vegetation. He wants the RM of St. Andrews to clean out drains like this on the road to reduce overland flooding.

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

St. Andrews residents living on Lockport Road have complained about drainage issues and overland flooding for years, but now there’s renewed home something may finally be done about the issue.

A meeting organized by St. Andrews council on June 23 drew some 60 residents, who voiced their concerns over flooding and a lack of maintenance on their streets.

Residents from both Donald and Lockport Road attended the Rossdale Community hall for a meeting with St. Andrews council.

“It was an excellent meeting,” said Coun. Joy Sul.

Sul said drainage issues have plagued Lockport Road residents for decades.

“They have a big issue with overland flooding,” she said.

Resident Jim DeVries has been complaining to the RM of St. Andrews about drainage issues and overland flooding for the last decade.

His home is on higher property and hasn’t flooded, but his neighbours’ homes have, and just a few years ago, a pump had to be brought in to save his garage from flooding.

He said ditches on the road get anywhere from three – four feet of water every year from the snow melt, but the water doesn’t move as quickly as it could, because drains are plugged with sediment and vegetation like cattails, which then causes overland flooding. 

“It just fills up,” he said.

“The issue is the municipality has done nothing in this ditch to improve the drainage.”

The RM of St. Andrews has spent thousands on studies to determine what is best for the street in recent years.

A newspaper article from 2005 shows an estimated $1.4 million was to be spent over a five-year period by the province and RM of St. Andrews to address drainage issues on Lockport Road. 

Sul said this year alone there is $90,000 in total allocated in the RM’s budget for flood monitoring on the street. 

But she agrees with DeVries that better maintenance needs to happen on the street. 

“It would appear there’s been (a) lack of maintenance,” she said. 

She said the street and residents’ concerns about it have gone unanswered for too long.

“It’s not a question,” she said.

Sul said she plans on proposing a maintenance schedule for the road at council. 

The vow by Sul is relief for DeVries who feels his concerns about clogged drains and overland flooding have gone unanswered for years. 

“They just need to clean the crap out,” he said. 

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition July 23 2015 p.11