By Brady Knight

Ground shifting still wreaking havoc at Regina Beach

May 24, 2015 | 12:24 PM

It was nearly six months ago on December 3, 2014 when an explosion rocked Regina Beach.

One house was obliterated and many others damaged in the blast from an underground gas leak, caused at least in part by ground shifting. Month later, the problem persists.
 
“It’s scary,” said Audrey Vierling. Her property on 6th Street East has been in the family since 1964. Like many others in the community the ground shifting has visibly impacted her lot.
 
“[The area] in front of our shed that used to be level to our grass has dropped four feet,” she explained. “We need a ladder to get into our shed.”
 
The movement is mainly due to excess groundwater softening the shale under the slopes of Regina Beach. The extra rain last spring did nothing to help the problem and this year the town is taking extra precautions. Sask Parks won’t be irrigating in the area and people are being warned to not water their lawns.
 
“I think people are very frustrated,” said Vierling. “It goes back many, many years that the drainage issues should have been addressed.”
 
The shifting earth is also effecting many underground services. Dozens of water main breaks plagued the town over the past few months. Meanwhile, SaskEnergy is warning they may have to cut service to at least a dozen homes – and possibly more.
 
“We’ve upgraded our system with the expansion loops – the flexible sections of gas main,” explained Dave Burdeniuk, director of media relations with SaskEnergy.
 
Since the explosion, several homes have been serviced by above-ground gas lines, but Burdeniuk says they are only a temporary measure and can’t be used permanently . A handful of other homes in certain parts of town may also be impacted.
 
Burdeniuk says homeowners could start receiving notices in the next couple weeks, with gas service being cut off in late July or early August. It would mark the first time the Crown corporation has ever had to completely stop supplying natural gas in a community they serve.
 
At a ratepayers meeting on Saturday, more than 200 residents packed into Memorial Hall to hear updates from town officials on the drainage and ground shifting situation. The meeting was lead by the Director of Public Works, Claude Seguin, who has been on the job for just over a month.
 
Many expressed frustration with their personal situations, which varied across the community. But most are simply resigning themselves to a long battle ahead.
 
“If they have to cut [the gas] off, they have to cut it off,” said Mayor Cameron Hart. “And there’s nothing we can do about it.”

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