With the weather warming up significantly in Moose Jaw for a couple of days, city crews are in for a busy week.

One of the issues, especially with all of the melting snow, is blockages to sewer drains that can cause flooding.

Director of Public Works and Utilities Darrin Stephanson said residents could and should help.

"When you come to more of your residential situations, I know my street is no different, you get some snow and ice on it during the winter, and sometimes what you need to do is bring out the ice chipper and create a
little channel to make sure that any localized pooling has a way to get down to the catch basin further down the street."

Another unfortunate effect the warming weather might have is an increase in water main breaks. Stephanson says however that it's pretty tough to predict how bad it might be.

"Just because we have a warmup like we do this week doesn't necessarily mean it's going to cause any issues down there. But when we do get the extended warm periods, it does start allowing for some of the shifting above to happen which then can create some frost-cracks on the pipes."

If you see a block sewer drain or you notice a water main break, you can report it by calling city hall or using the City of Moose Jaw app.

 

(Photo credit, Rob Carnie).