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The Town of Aberdeen northeast of Saskatoon declared a state of emergency due to flooding on Saturday.
The town council said in a social media post that water was collecting within the town limits and it was working with Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) and the RM of Aberdeen to mitigate any damage to the town situated just off Highway 41.
Mayor Ryan White said the state of emergency was lifted on Monday morning, after the forecast showed no additional rain in the coming days.
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Resident Alex Rennie said the flooding was mainly caused by melting ice dams. Temperatures in the Aberdeen area hit 16 C on Thursday and Saturday and 18 C on Friday.
“It was a combination of certain culverts not being frozen over, and just it being plus 16, a couple ice dams in the field (were) melting,” he said on Sunday. “Yesterday something broke and it just flooded.”
Rennie said the water from the ice dams mixed with some other work in the town led to a lot of water on the streets on Saturday. No homes were flooded.
“They started pumping one of the ponds out by the school. So it was a combination of a couple things but it all culminated in it being almost three feet of water in front of my house.”
Residents in Aberdeen making the best of the situation. https://t.co/JiD95jQLF2 Video courtesy Nevaeh Wudrich. @CKOMNews pic.twitter.com/dXSHMuPz1K
— Brent Bosker (@brentbosker) April 13, 2025
Some residents of the town, which is home to around 700 people, tried to have some fun with the floodwaters.
“Me and my uncle tried taking the kayak … and there was a couple of teenage boys that got an inflatable inner tube and ran up behind my block where it was almost like a river and trailed themselves all the way down the ditch to my house, and then onto what we were calling the lake on Blake (Crescent),” Rennie said.
Water pooling near the dog park and Sasktel service building in Aberdeen on Sunday. (Will Mandzuk/650CKOM)
The flooding on the roads has receded and most of the water was sitting on a dog park or in ditches on Sunday.
“It’s a small town, so there’s no storm drainage storage … it’s all ditches,” he said.
Chris Moulds has lived in Aberdeen for nine years and he said he’s never seen anything like the flooding before, adding he was impressed with how quickly the town handled the water.
“I’m really proud of our workers in town and how quick they jumped on that and got it dealt with,” he said.
“We’re very lucky here in this town, because our road crews are out all the time giving up time with their families and everything to do emergencies like this and keep the town safe.”
Moulds said the quick response of the town crews saved what could have been a difficult situation.
“It could have been a lot worse if they didn’t get on it,” he said. “It looks like they did a good job, because water’s starting to move and roads are starting to dry.”
The RM is located on the South Saskatchewan River and home to the Clarkboro Ferry crossing, located on a grid road between Warman and Aberdeen.
This seasonal ferry is Saskatchewan’s busiest ferry and transports over 70,000 vehicles each year but only operates between late spring and fall. In the winter months it becomes an unofficial ice road for area residents. Recently a car attempting to cross fell through the thinning ice there.
In a recent spring runoff report, Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency said 10-20 centimetres of snow around Saskatoon in March was not expected to significantly increase this spring’s runoff, but also noted that noted that things can change quickly if temperatures rise rapidly.
Saskatchewan insurance providers recently started to offer policies that protect homeowners from overland flooding.
The Government of Saskatchewan says on its website that overland flood insurance allows people to choose the amount of coverage and the deductible level that best meets their needs and all property owners should obtain adequate coverage for their property.
Flooding falls under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) that covers the cost of uninsurable essential losses, cleanup, repairs and temporary relocation, but eligible claims under PDAP depend on the availability and affordability of insurance in the Saskatchewan marketplace, SPSA says on its website.
The agency also said that overland flood insurance has not been “deemed reasonably available” in the province and until it is, people remain eligible for financial assistance, adding that homeowners should speak to their insurance broker or insurance company for details.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health also supplies an online flooding clean-up guide for home owners.
—with files from CKOM News
—Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct an error. Aberdeen is northeast of Saskatoon, not northwest.
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