More than two weeks after record-breaking rainfall inundated parts of the Rural Municipality of Rockwood, two families along Winfield Road say they remain surrounded by floodwater and feel abandoned by the municipality.
Residents Gabby Smith-Landry and Joanne and Trevor Sinclair say their properties continue to be flooded 16 days after the June 9-10 storm dumped approximately 255 millimetres of rain on the region.
The families allege longstanding drainage issues contributed to the flooding and say repeated requests for improvements over several years have gone unanswered.
“We’re beyond frustrated by the RM’s lack of support and caring during this time,” Smith-Landry said. “We feel as though the RM has abandoned us.”
Smith-Landry said nearly three feet of water entered the basement of her family’s home during the storm, causing extensive damage to the house and its contents. She said insurance will not come close to covering the losses.
She said flooding has been a recurring problem every spring, prompting multiple requests to the municipality for drainage improvements. According to Smith-Landry, the property’s previous owner also submitted a request for a culvert that was denied.
“We definitely would not have had this big of an issue if there had been somewhere else for the water to go,” she said.
Smith-Landry said standing water still covers much of the property, with each rainfall causing water levels to rise again.
She also alleges that after discussing the matter with municipal officials, the family was told there was no immediate solution and that any further communication regarding potential legal action would have to go through the municipality’s lawyers.
The Sinclair family describes a similar experience.
Joanne and Trevor Sinclair said they contacted their area councillor on June 12, followed by Reeve Wes Taplin two days later after receiving no response. They said their concerns were forwarded to the municipality’s director of operations.
According to the Sinclairs, they requested culverts be installed to improve drainage but were advised the issue is a long-term problem requiring an expensive long-term solution.
RM of Rockwood CAO Chris Luellman said the drainage concerns are part of a longstanding issue affecting a larger area and require engineering review before permanent solutions can be implemented.
“The issue has been a long-term issue and is under review as there are many factors that must be investigated and engineered for solutions as the impact is on the entire area in question,” Luellman said.
He said there is no short-term solution to address the impacts of the recent flooding event and that the municipality continues to seek solutions for drainage challenges throughout Rockwood’s approximately 450-square-mile jurisdiction.
The family said municipal staff offered to lend them a pump and hoses so they could pump water off their own property but would not undertake the work themselves.
“I believe this is their job, not ours, and what we pay taxes for,” Joanne Sinclair said.
The family said contaminated wells have left residents relying on bottled water until floodwaters recede enough for wells to be disinfected.
The Sinclairs said they also asked whether they could hire a contractor to remove the water and submit the cost to the municipality but say that request was declined.
“It’s a game of pass the buck, no response, falling on deaf ears, hoping that we will go away with our concerns,” Joanne Sinclair said. “Extremely frustrating, but we’re not giving up.”
Both families say they believe improvements to drainage infrastructure are needed to prevent similar flooding in the future.
The June 9-10 storm produced historic rainfall across parts of the Interlake, prompting states of local emergency in the RM of Rockwood, the RM of Woodlands and the Town of Stonewall. Hundreds of homes experienced flooding, roads were washed out and municipal infrastructure was overwhelmed throughout the region.
