By Nigel Maxwell

Water continues to rise near La Ronge

Aug 2, 2011 | 11:56 AM

The Montreal River is now trickling over the road near Air Ronge and is getting closer to covering the bridge.

“It's an important connector there. It is the only land based way that you can get to La Ronge, to Stanley Mission, to Otter Rapids etc.” said Dwayne Rowlett, with the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority.

If the road becomes hazardous to travel, they would consider closing it down, he said.

“On Lac La Ronge itself, it is still increasing about half an inch per day. That's down from one inch per day a week ago. We'd expect to see peaks still sometime away in La Ronge, ten days maybe longer,” said Rowlett.

He said the water has not been this high since 1955 and so this could be a record setting water level.

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Both the Village of Air Ronge and the Lac Ronge Indian Band have declared states of emergency. The Town of La Ronge has not yet followed.

“La Ronge has only designated the area as a disaster area based on the fact people can apply for PDAP funding from the province. Any ground water seepage will be covered by the province so that people can actually mitigate the damage incurred by the flooding,” said Mayor Thomas Sierzycki.

Sierzycki said a lot of people have never seen the water so high.

“We are stressing that everyone does precautionary things. Kids, you know, swimming, everything changes when the water goes up,” said Sierzycki.

In Air Ronge, they are bracing for the worst.

“The houses are an ongoing issue. The water is slowly creeping up to them. And sandbagging efforts continue,” said David Smallwood, deputy mayor of Air Ronge.

“Please do not allow your children to go near or swim in that river. The current is ferocious and it would just carry them far out into the bay.”

nmaxwell@panow.com