creek

With spring now here and temperatures starting to warm up again, the City of Swift Current is continuing to prepare for possible flooding.

City Fire Chief Denis Pilon says they have been monitoring the situation for the last few weeks and their flood preparation teams have been meeting regularly.

He also notes that the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency has notified them of another increase in the release from Duncairn Dam into Swift Current Creek set to take place on Tuesday.

"They're going to start flowing 100 cubic feet per second, and they were running 75, so there is an increase coming today, so there will be more flow in the river," Pilon said. "Keep kids away from the creek. Don't walk across it. The ice may look good, there could be snow on it, but underneath, it could be very weak and breaking up from all the water that has flown."

Pilon adds the good news is for now, the weather forecast is showing warm temperatures in the daytime, and freezing overnight, allowing for a slow melt of the snow pack and lower runoff levels into the creek.

"Right now, what we'll see is the snow in the city will quickly disappear, it's the stuff out in the country that we're worried about," he said. "Hopefully that freeze-thaw cycle continues."

In the meantime, he is reminding homeowners to do what they can to protect their properties from flooding.

"The big thing is right now is to make sure you shovel snow away from your homes, and you have a place for it to run off and get away from it to keep it out of your basement," Pilon added.

He adds homeowners who may need sandbags can fill them for free at the Swift Current Service Centre, located at 2074 South Service Road West.