Spring thaw: Calgary crews working to clear flooded streets and sidewalks
The City of Calgary is facing a barrage of calls to remove pools of water unable to drain down city catch basins due to a buildup of ice.
Corey Colbran, manager of wastewater services, said on Wednesday there's a backlog of nearly 1,300 calls they're trying to respond to.
"We've gotten through about 300 of them and we continue to plow through those," Colbran said.
Leftover snow piles throughout Calgary are being exposed to warm days and frigid nights, which leads to the pooling water freezing and continuing to cover over storm drains day after day.
"The last year we saw something like this was 2018, so we do deal with some degree of this every year, but certainly this year is a lot more just because of the amount of snow and how packed it's gotten," Colbran says.
Calgary has about 60,000 storm drains.
"We do know we have some problem areas, we are working to get to those," Colbran said.
Dean Dolph, a homeowner in Rutland Park, says he waited more than five days for the city to come, all while watching the water creep closer and closer to his garage.
He says he was eventually forced to sandbag.
"(The City of Calgary) told me if it started to flood the garage, give me a call and they'd bump up the priority," said Dolph.
He says he's frustrated with the slow response despite the threat to his property.
"If I don't clear my snow off of that sidewalk within two days, I can get a ticket from the bylaw officer," Dolph said. "But because of the city's negligence, the sidewalk has been underwater for five days."
As of Wednesday evening, the large puddle remained, lapping at the sandbags because the street was still not draining properly.
If you have a drain that needs clearing you can contact 311 online, through the mobile app or by calling.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Canadian-Israeli man shot dead in Egypt; claim links killing to Gaza
A Canadian man 'of Jewish Israeli descent' has been shot dead in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in a suspected criminal case, a security source said, while a previously unknown militant group said it carried out the attack in reaction to the war in Gaza.