Residents on P.E.I.’s South Shore plead for province’s help with flood-prone properties | CBC News
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Oleg Bebeshko and his family live along Route 19 in Rice Point, P.E.I., a South Shore community with picturesque views of the Northumberland Strait.
But on rainy days or when there’s lots of snow melt, Bebeshko’s water views are a little too close for comfort.
That’s because water flowing from higher ground and through a culvert on his property floods his yard and other neighbouring properties.
“The water is getting closer and closer to our house and also to the nearby houses,” Bebeshko said.
“I’m really frustrated.… I’m worried about my kids, my family and my house.”
Bebeshko said the running water is dangerous and his kids can’t play in the yard. He worries as well about the safety of his elderly parents, who also live with him.
The water causes damage and erosion, and Bebeshko said he has to fill in trenches caused by the flooding every year.
Residents have called and emailed the provincial government to get the problem fixed. They said some other new culverts were recently installed nearby, but the one channelling water onto their properties has been ignored.
Last month, a particularly rainy day led to a torrent of water rushing across the yards.
“There was enough water coming onto the property that I couldn’t go out into my backyard without hip waders on,” said Randy Robar, who lives just behind Bebeshko.
“The water was flowing fast enough that we could hear the water in the house itself, and it completely flooded the land between my house and Oleg’s house.”
Robar’s residence is part of a homeowners’ association, so he said changing the slope of the land or building barriers to channel the water around the properties isn’t allowed.
Both he and Bebeshko would like to see the province move the culvert about 15 metres up the road to the property’s boundary, which they say will result in a straighter path for the water to flow into the Northumberland Strait without flooding their yards.
CBC News reached out to the provincial government last Thursday, but officials did not provide any information.
But as the water gets closer and closer to their homes and the risk of accidents and damage increases, Bebeshko said the residents need help now.
“Once we have heavy rain, everything is flooded … and it’s soft everywhere and it’s dangerous,” he said.
“I would like to ask the provincial government for immediate action on this issue. Please help us with this.”