By Thia James

Situation at Little Red River Park ‘deteriorating’

Jun 25, 2013 | 11:55 AM

Little Red River Park continues to “deteriorate” as parts of the park remain underwater, according to Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne.

Dionne toured the park Monday with other members of council, and he said they were surprised to see how much the park had deteriorated in just two days.

“Two days ago, when we toured the Little Red, there was a power pole along the far bank and that was, and that’s why we had to cut power to Little Red. And it was four feet up the bank. It’s now four feet in the water,” Dionne said after Monday evening’s council meeting.

River levels are expected to be at a one-in-30-year event, and could rise up to two metres on Thursday.

He said that he goes every two days to tour the park, and the situation has become so “scary” that if the flooding keeps up for seven days, when the river finally goes down, it won’t be in its original bed.

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On Monday afternoon, city crews, representatives from the province and the Prince Albert Fire Department worked to construct a three-foot barrier around Cosmo Lodge.

But other structures within the park remain at risk of being damaged or destroyed by the flood waters.

Two bridges, including one by Cosmo Lodge are currently affected by the high waters.

“The one by the Cosmo Lodge, that’s the one where the root has now lodged against it,” Dionne said. “So now the water is pushing the root and the root’s pushing against the bridge. And so what we’re worried about is when the water level comes up, because it’s only a foot underneath that bridge, when it comes up six feet, then you’re going to have the water lifting on the bridge because it’s all wood, and the root and the … water coming down from Anglin Lake pushing on it. If it lasts.”

He said the bridge may be gone before Thursday.

Dionne plans to take another tour of the park with some members of council on Thursday, if the roads are still passable.

During Monday’s council meeting, Dionne emphasized the need for the public to stay out of Little Red River Park.
People are crossing barriers to take a photo, which he cautioned them not to do because the park is not safe.

After the meeting, he said the city is looking into what kinds of enforcement measures it can take when it declares an emergency to get people to comply with warnings.

“So we are going to look to an alternative, when we declare an emergency, like in the park, if you break that, there will be stiff fines and penalties for that.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames