Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (Sep 01/03) - Without claiming flooding can be prevented, Hay River town council is taking steps to lessen the severity of springtime high water.

At its Aug. 25 meeting, council allocated $55,000 for flood mitigation measures. Town administration recommended the improvements after the Hay River flooded in the spring.

"We can't prevent a flood in Hay River," says Mayor Duncan McNeill, although he adds the steps will better prepare the town than in previous years.

In all, 14 improvements will be undertaken in six areas of the community.

"They're relatively small items, but they will contribute significantly to slowing a flood," says McNeill.

For example, one particularly troublesome culvert is being decommissioned.

During the springtime flooding, a storm gate failed and water backed up through the culvert, threatening a town pumphouse.

"If river water had gotten into the pumphouse, we would have been looking at shutting down water and sewer services for the downtown core," explains McNeill.

Other improvements include more work on culverts and storm sewers, construction of a berm around a liftstation, and improving and extending the berm on Vale Island.

That berm offers some extra protection to West Channel and the airport area.

The April 30 spring flood came from jammed Hay River ice causing a spill of water over the banks and into the West Channel and Hay River Reserve residential areas.

More than 100 people had to evacuate their homes.

During a tour of the flooded areas, mayor McNeill was advised to stay out of some areas but was determined to see flood damage for himself.

"The mayor does not get stuck," McNeill quipped.