The worst of the flood appears to have come and gone.
That’s according to Mayor Don Scott who notes the we’re nearly at the point where we can start to focus on the clean up.
Scott says there’s still a chance we could see some minor flooding.
“There still is a small risk that there could be a little bit more but I don’t realistically see that happening.”
The water levels on the Athabasca River are down 7.6 metres and between 1 and 1.5 metres on the Clearwater River. The ice jam continues to be around 9 km long.
At this time, River Breakup hasn’t been declared. This will happen when there’s no longer a risk of ice jams.
Currently, the Lower Townsite and Waterways have had their evacuation orders lifted.
This includes MacDonald Island, all streets northwest of Riedel Street, and all streets northwest of King Street between Highway 63 and Franklin Avenue.
Utilities are still down with ATCO Electric and ATCO Gas working to get them up and running over the next couple of days.
“They could not give me a timeline but they promised me they were gonna do everything they could to get things moving,” added Scott.
He believes we’ll also start to see more evacuation orders lifted very soon.
“We have asked all the people involved in this to bust their a** to get people back home – that’s what I want, that’s what mayor and council wants.”
Pumps are currently being set up to clear up access water. This includes 10 pumps between Prairie Loop Boulevard and Waterways.
Meanwhile, those who are allowed back home or at their business are being reminded that there could be damage, to continue following the boil water advsiory, and that some vehicles may have been towed if they were damaged or in the way of emergency personnel.
People can retrieve their vehicles through FMG Energy Services.
More information about the flood can be found on the RMWB’s website.