Whistle Bend pond came within inches of flooding homes, says resident

A fix is in the works to address a design flaw in a Whitehorse subdivision, after a man-made pond threatened to overflow and flood nearby homes.

Recent rain has filled a pond feature in the Whistle Bend neighbourhood to capacity. The pond was built to control storm water but last week residents found water lapping against their back fence.

A pump is working overtime to subdue rising levels.

"If it got even a few inches higher it would flood into our backyards and into our basements," says Julie Jai, who lives in the Evergreen development.

"In the spring this is going to be much more of a concern when the ground is frozen and you have spring melt but the ground is not able to absorb the water. That's where I see there will be potential flooding."

The Yukon Government said engineers originally assumed the pond's water level would be controlled naturally but are now designing an automated drainage system that should be ready in a few weeks.

Ron Bramadat, Whistle Bend project manager, said when the drainage system is complete, overflow water will be directed out of the subdivision to existing natural gravity outfall depressions.