July 17, 2013 - Today, Minister responsible for Water Security Agency Ken Cheveldayoff and the Reeve of the Rural Municipality (RM) of Buckland Don Fyrk announced that the RM is constructing a channel that will drain water flooding Highway 2 into the Little Red River.
The RM has also hired the consulting firm AMEC who is looking at a longer term solution to take water from Sand Lake to the Shell River. In the interim, the new channel will take the water to a tributary of the Little Red River, which has sufficient capacity to handle the inflow.
Rainfall in July caused Sand Lake to spill in a southeastward direction, causing flooding to a depth of about 0.5 metres and the closure of Highway 2 north of Prince Albert. In addition, flooding threatened three homes and yard sites. Under the Emergency Flood Damage Reduction Program, the Water Security Agency and the Ministry of Government Relations worked with these landowners and the RM.