Flooding in Saint John

Flooded Saint John resident wants accountability

CBC News

Posted: Apr 24, 2012 12:14 PM AT

Last Updated: Apr 24, 2012 8:39 PM AT

Heavy rain caused road closures in Saint John Tuesday, including the often-flooded Glen Falls Community in East Saint John.
Parts of southern New Brunswick were pounded by rain on Monday. Saint John received about 70 millimetres of rain before the heavy rainfall warning ended around lunchtime Tuesday, while St. Stephen witnessed 69.4 mm of rain during the same period.
Low lying neighbourhoods such as Glen Falls were saturated and despite city barricades, motorists continued to drive on flooded roads.
The Glen Falls Community is always a trouble spot during floods with sump pumps working overtime.
Local homeowner Bob Millet says it was a terrible mistake to build here.
"The absolute insanity of building houses in this area is now proven, and it’s been proven for some time," Millet said.
"Nobody wants to accept any responsibility and they always blame somebody else for their faux-pas. So we suffer and they live in the high ground and they’re not concerned about us at city hall."
Deputy Commissioner Kevin Rice said Glen Falls sits so flat and low it cannot drain, especially when the tide is high.
He said the city could not afford an expensive fix but has been spending millions in recent years on maintenance efforts.
Rice said some of the ditches and maintenance efforts the city has made in the last few years have made a difference, "allowing water to flow more freely out of that neighbourhood to the Courtenay Bay Causeway."
Rice said future projects on the books should help.

Flooding threatens other communities

People in the Nashwaak Valley, north of Fredericton, were put on alert for potential flooding as well.
Fredericton reported 41.4 mm of rain in a 24-hour period.
The Nashwaak River spilled over its banks after heavy rain over the last few days.
Emergency workers in the Nashwaak Valley north of Fredericton warned residents to prepare for flooding.
Adam Russell, the chief of the local fire department, said a golf course and some farmers' fields were underwater.
"No infrastructure presently is in danger. However, with the rain before dawn and still falling, residents need to be aware we will be reaching flood stage by dawn [Wednesday] morning," he said.
Russell said firefighters will be going out in the community and reminding people to be prepared just in case there is a flood.
"We have a number of members that are going to start going around and visiting homes and a couple of businesses. We have a seniors care home that we're going to visit and make sure they are packed," Russell said.
"They do have their plan in place to do such [a] thing. This is the second time in a month that we've done this so they're well aware and well practised."
The Department of Transportation reported three washed out roads in the Penniac-Durham Bridge area: Goodspeed Road, Harry Allen Road and McLean Flat Road.
The rain came from a low pressure system near Ottawa that is tracking northward Tuesday and is expected to be over Hudson Bay by Wednesday morning.