As the weather starts to warm up, Okotoks residents may come upon blocked storm drains or frozen catch basins more than they would like.
Town transportation team lead Peter McDowell said from March 13-17, there were 113 calls made to the public works department regarding a number of issues, including blocked storm drains, icy streets and frozen catch basins. From March 20 to the morning of March 23, there were 186 calls.
McDowell said crews have been busy working alongside a contracted crew to address all the concerns raised by residents.
"We really appreciate their calls, the heads-up," he said. "We always send a crew out to look, we prioritize it, it gets on a list and the crews are going through the list, we’re updating them twice a day."
Flipping between warm temperatures during the day and cooler conditions at night is making it difficult to get every issue addressed immediately.
"The freeze-thaw cycle is really what wreaks havoc on it because we get all that water going down there and then we got that minus 16 the other night so it turns to ice and backs them up," said McDowell.
Issues can be caused by depositing snow from sidewalk and yard removal onto roads, or from snow melting off vehicles that haven't moved in quite some time.
"They’re actually causing some of the damning of the drainage so the water can’t make it to the catch basin," he said.
However, McDowell added that most residents are good about ensuring that doesn't happen.
To help prevent blockages and the like, the Town asks residents not to deposit their snow on roadways and to work at clearing off vehicles which may be piled under snow. McDowell also suggested removing driveway mats to ensure water can reach the drains.
The Town said it is nearly done clearing snow from priority one routes and is close to completely priority twos.
Residents are still encouraged to report their concerns via okotoks.ca/report-it or by calling 403-938-8952. Due to the high volume of calls, it may take the Town a few days to return a call. However, it said crews are regularly assessing roads and working as quickly as possible to get storm drains cleared. The drain will likely be cleared by the time the Town has a chance to call you back.
Mayor Tanya Thorn launched a contest via social media last week encouraging residents to guess the date the Town's snow pile will melt. The person closest to the actual date without going over wins a $50 gift certificate to a local business of their choice. Entries will be accepted until March 28.
