Landowner says CN responsible for flooding near Saskatoon

Nestled between Highway 7 and a Canadian National (CN) rail  line on Saskatoon’s southwest edge is the old transmitter site for CFQC radio.

That land is now owned by Clint Forster, who claims that blocked culverts running under the rail line are causing widespread flooding on his property. 

Forster said despite a series of emails and phone calls to CN dating back to July 2013, and despite a report from a private engineering firm he hired to look into the issue, the rail giant has yet to respond to the problem.

He estimates that approximately half of his 200 acres is left flooded in the spring, with about 30 to 40 percent remaining under water during the summer.

“It does very significant harm to the value of our property, but more than that… the water backs up also across Highway 7, and floods a great big chunk of city-owned property,” Forster said.

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Suspecting that the flooding was caused by blocked or missing culverts under the CN rail line to the south, Forster attempted to contact the company.

“They won’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, they’re ‘responsible’ or ‘not responsible.’ I just get kind of vague answers to my questions, and nothing concrete comes back,” he said.

This went on for about a year before Forster hired engineering firm Stantec to look into the matter independently . Their report confirmed that erosion along the grade of the rail line has plugged three culverts, preventing the backed-up water from draining south towards the river.

“The answer seems to be straightforward,” Forster said. “It would seem that, just to take a backhoe and clear the culverts would do the trick.”

Stantec’s report was sent to Forster’s contact at CN Rail, who has yet to respond to it. News Talk Radio has also reached out repeatedly to CN for comment in the last two weeks, but the company has offered no comment.

“The word ‘frustration’ I could repeat several times,” Forster said. “If they were to just take some interest in dealing with the issue, I’m sure that we could work it out between us.”

Forster is now considering legal action against the rail company, but said he fears a lawsuit may shut down communication entirely, and further delay a resolution to a seemingly simple problem.

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow