Central Alberta town cancels Canada Day celebrations amid local state of emergency

Tofield is bracing for more rain and has cancelled Canada Day celebrations to be safe. CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson has more.

Canada Day celebrations have been cancelled in Tofield, Alta., as the town braces for more rain while it continues to manage overland flooding.

“We have parades, fireworks, events all throughout town,” said Mayor Adam Hall. “It just felt that the responsible decision at this point, though disappointing for us and all of our residents, was to cancel, namely because we’re still still asking our residents to reduce water usage.”

Crews have been working since June 20 to mitigate flooding caused by a deluge.

Now with sunny skies giving the town some respite, Hall said crews are focused on trying to get water out of the areas that are flooded and assessing the extent of damages.

CN brought six industrial pumps to the community to run under train lines in an effort to take pressure off the railbed and mitigate waterflow to the town.

Forecasts call for more rain over the weekend and into next week for central Alberta, prompting a special weather statement from Environment Canada warning of potential flooding.

“We know more water is coming, so we just need to be prepared for that,” said Hall.

The town has asked residents to limit water use to mitigate strain on its wastewater system. Hall said some residents have been forced to clean out their homes due to sewage backups.

“At this point, because of the volume of water, you just can’t keep up when there’s that much rain in that short period of time, the system can’t hold what we have,” said the mayor. “We are below where we need to hold it, so we have space … hopefully this weekend with more moisture it’ll continue to hold.”

Several communities like Sherwood Park and Camrose are assisting the town with water mitigation, including workers from the Town of Wainwright, which is about 135 kilometres southeast of Tofield.

“We’re here for five days moving pumps and setting up pumps and draining water out of different places,” said William Willerton. “We’re here to lend a helping hand and do what they want us to do.”

The local state of emergency prompted a visit from Premier Danielle Smith and MLA Jackie Lovely to get an update on flood mitigation and recovery efforts.

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre took to social media earlier this week advising residents that his constituency office is open for those seeking help.

The town is looking to gather information from those impacted by the flooding through an online survey. Print copies can be found at the town office.

Community shows up for local business

On Monday morning, Jill Lungal, co-owner of meat packing business Tofield Packers, said water was coming up to their sidewalks during the barrage of rain.

“The water just started coming up, coming up, and coming up,” said Lungal, adding that family, friends and community members showed up to pile sandbags around the building.

“We’ve literally been here 24 hours a day since Monday morning. People staying overnight, watching the pumps,” said Lungal.

“The support has been unreal,” said Langal, adding that she’s received messages from strangers offering to help her.

Langal is hoping to get back to business soon, but they’re taking it day-by-day.

“All we can do at this moment is wait and see what happens. Hopefully the weather man is wrong.”

Beaumont water use

The City of Beaumont, located just southeast of Edmonton, issued a water use alert on Sunday after heavy rain pushed its wastewater system over its capacity. The restriction was lifted Thursday afternoon after the city said systems returned to normal.

“Most of the wastewater system began clearing after the rain lifted Monday afternoon, however, by late Tuesday it became apparent one line was not draining as quickly as it should,” said a statement from the city.

Residents are still asked to space out heavy water use like multi-load laundry days and excess dishwashing, hold off on emptying pools and hot tubs as well as watering lawns and gardens.

With more rain on the way, the city advises that water restrictions may be necessary if systems reach capacity again.

The city will be reducing its own non-essential water use by suspending water and sewer main flushing, firefighter training that requires water, street cleaning and washing fleet vehicle, and hydrant meter use with the exception of emergency use.

Residents can take the following precautions to prevent flooding ahead of the weekend rainfall:

• direct downspouts away from your foundation, at least two metres if possible;
• clear leaves and debris from eavestroughs and downspouts;
• test your sump pump and make sure it discharges well away from the house;
• if you have a backwater valve, check that it is clear and working;
• keep window wells clear and covered; and
• move valuables off basement floors as a precaution.

“Our priority right now is keeping things flowing and minimizing the potential for the system to be overwhelmed again,” said Beaumont Mayor Lisa Vanderkwaak. “Once this is behind us, there will be a review.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson