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(Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)
Lots of Water

City of P.A. preparing for large snow runoff as temperatures drastically warm-up

Apr 4, 2023 | 5:16 PM

The city of Prince Albert is getting prepared for what could be a flood of melted snow.

According to Environment Canada, the temperature is forecasted to be as high as 14 degrees during the Easter long weekend which is expected to get rid of most, if not all, of the snow we currently have left.

Jordan Tait, the Water and Sewer Manager for the city, told paNOW that crews will be out during the long weekend ensuring all catch basins are clear to prevent streets from being flooded.

“I expect it’s going to be a busy weekend,” he said. “We’ve already started setting up crews already.”

The majority of the water will go into the North Saskatchewan River though this isn’t expected to have a big impact on levels in the river.

“We may encounter a slight effect on the raw water quality in the river with the localized runoff,” said Andy Busse, the manager for P.A.’s water treatment plant. “The operations can continuously monitor the raw water quality and adjust the water treatment process accordingly.”

The rest of the melted snow will go into the city’s retention pond which helps prevent flooding by holding large quantities of water and slowly letting it drain out.

Meanwhile, after the snow is gone, attention will turn towards the ice on the North Saskatchewan River.

It’s not expected to break up until the area experiences at least a week or more of continuous warm weather. However, when it does it can impact the water quality.

To ensure this doesn’t cause any issues for people living in the area, the water treatment plant continues to monitor Environment Canada North Saskatchewan River stations near Edmonton, Deer Creek and Prince Albert to determine whether levels are being impacted and their process of turning river water into the water we use everyday needs to be updated.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow