Crews in the Town of Taber are still working to fight back floodwaters encroaching on the community’s water treatment plant as officials are concerned the situation could affect drinking water.

The water is currently in an area just south of the treatment plant and is steadily approaching the facility, being fed from a field nearby.

Workers are digging trenches on the side of the reservoir in an attempt to divert the water away from the buildings.

There has been no damage to the water treatment plant so far and things are safe for residents at the moment. There hasn’t been a boil water advisory called and no steps are required by residents regarding water use either.

Pumps have also been put in place to help drain the floodwater away from the area and deposit it into the storm sewer system.

The situation is getting better, Taber officials say, as the water level has dropped about four to six inches since it peaked on Wednesday.

“We had a situation that developed basically yesterday in this area of town with the meltwater. It definitely wasn’t to the extent that it was yesterday morning that it turned into about 5:00 in the evening. We had water coming right into this compost area. So what we decided to do was to engage some of our town forces to clean out some of the ditches to carry the water to where it should have gone, which was to the west and then to the northwest,” says Cory Armfelt, director of emergency services with the Town of Taber.

Armfelt said the state of emergency was called so that they could get the help they needed to move quickly to combat the issue.

“We are working to make sure the elevation declines as much as possible on the lake that is south of our water treatment plant.”

He says that there is only a 48-hour supply of water inside the plant had they needed to shut it down because of flooding.

No homes or businesses are being threatened but the mayor urges residents to keep an eye on their properties in the coming days.

Cold weather in the forecast is expected to help the situation, but that only means that flooding with still be an issue for a number of weeks.

The state of emergency is expected to remain in place until the overland flooding subsides.

Further details can be found on the Town of Taber’s official website.