Regina has received the largest downpour of rain in Saskatchewan in the past 72 hours.
The weather office said Regina has received almost 80 millimeters of rain. 9.6 to 32.3 millimetres fell in the Queen City as of Monday morning on top of the precipitation from the weekend.
On Monday, some motorists and pedestrians were seen driving and walking through pools of water flooding in areas such as 4th Avenue by Broad Street and in several different neighbourhoods.
Pat Wilson, the director of water, waste and environmental services for the city, talked about how the partial flooding is due to a reasonably overwhelmed system.
“Once we see a large event, it takes 6-8 hours for the domestic (sewer) system to clear out,” said Wilson. “The storm system clears much more quickly, it gathers water up in a local area and puts it in a channel or creek, so it doesn’t have as far to go.”
While she admitted that precipitation is needed for soils within the city, officials hope that Mother Nature can hold off on the rain for the next little while in order to help relieve some of the pressure on the sewer system.
Wilson mentioned how there were no significant back ups in underpasses on Monday. The Albert Street underpass curb lanes were affected for a bit, but she confirmed that problem had cleared up relatively quickly.
For those who are wondering if any upgrades will be coming to their area to address flooding issues, Wilson said the city is already looking at where they can make improvements for their next group of projects.
“We invest about $3 million a year in the maintenance or ongoing replacement of our storm drainage system and around $9 million for our waste water system.”
She also wanted to remind citizens that if they ever see water flooding in an underpass, it is best to choose an alternate route for safety purposes.
Rainfall totals
The southern grain belt received most of the rain, with Estevan, Indian Head and Moose Jaw getting over 50 millimeters.
Assiniboia had 37 millimeters.
Other centres like Maple Creek, Swift Current, Weyburn and Broadview had over 25 millimeters.
Further north, Yorkton had only 5 millimeters while Saskatoon and Outlook only a trace of moisture.
