Last Friday parts of High Eagle RV Resort were under the flow of the Rosebud River. The flow in area rivers and streams has slowed since last week, and Alberta Emergency Alert has now downgraded a Flood Watch for the area to a High Stream Flow Advisory.
While a number of emergency alerts are in effect for areas surrounding Drumheller, it appears that run off is subsiding.
Since Friday, April 4, much of Central Alberta has been the subject of Alberta Emergency Alert warnings. There was a High Water Level Advisory for Kneehill County, which was put in place on April 7. On April 9, Wheatland County began issuing a High Water Level Warning for its area streams.
A Flood Watch for parts of Central Alberta, including Drumheller, was issued on Wednesday, April 9 and as of Monday night it has been downgraded to a High Stream Flow advisory.
Glenn Koester, Reeve of Wheatland County, said it appears that the rivers and streams in the area are slowing down. Last week's warm temperatures took a bit of a drop over the weekend, which may have helped slow down the dramatic melt of the relatively large snowpack on the plains.
“On Sunday, the Service Berry Creek sure looked lower, and we were in Rosebud this morning (Monday), and the Rosebud River was down quite a bit,” said Koester.
Last week however, campsites at the High Eagle RV Park were submerged as the river broke it banks.
Koester is appreciative of the efforts of county crews did to keep roads passable in the area. While some needed grader touch-up other needed more work.
“They worked hard,” he said.
Kneehill County’s website shows a number of road closures and washouts due to the spring run off, however Reeve Bob Long says it appears the worst is over.
“We’re pretty much holding our own now, the peak happened,” said Kneehill Reeve Bob Long .
He says most of the closures were precautionary, however there were a few culverts washed out.
“At this time of year it isn’t necessarily because the water is so high, but when the ice come out it jams up in the culverts,” said Long.
Watchers of the Red Deer River saw another dramatic ice flow late Sunday. This followed a ice bottleneck last week.
This time it appears the Little Red Deer River was jammed up with ice. Over the weekend, there were reports of flooding in a Bowden subdivision. On Sunday, Drumheller residents saw the ice from this jam flow through the valley.
