Spring thaw floods Aberdeen, Sask.

The Town of Aberdeen, Sask., declared a state of emergency over the weekend after a rapid spring thaw put some streets under water and threatened to flood homes.

"I think we dodged a big bullet for the most part, but yeah, there is some damage," said Real Hamoline, a councillor with Division 4 in the rural municipality of Aberdeen, about 37 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

Aberdeen Mayor Ryan White said residents started getting worried on Saturday as they watched water levels creep up during the day after double digit temperatures brought on a rapid spring thaw.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, temperatures hit 18 C on Friday and 14 C on Saturday in Aberdeen.

"I've been here since 2007 and this is the first time seeing water like this in the amount that we had," White said.

The water rose to cover roads and lawns, prompting the town to declare a state of emergency. 

Renny Grilz, a local resident, said Aberdeen was hit with two storms in late March resulting in a large accumulation of snow.

Grilz said the snow melted so quickly that local youth were able to boat down the streets on Saturday.

"There was kids out there on rubber rafts and kayaking down the streets and the drainage ditches."

Several roads were closed as the town worked to divert the water, including Wruck Road between Highway 41 and the Clarkboro Ferry grid.

"We had local residents pitch in and we had to take out several culverts to open up the ditches for the water to flow faster," White said.

"We actually did end up taking a road just to the north of town completely out in one section, just to allow that water to flow into a field."

White said the town was able to borrow some equipment being used for a water reservoir expansion.

He said Aberdeen relies on surface drainage and if one culvert backs up, the water hits a choke point and backs up through the whole town, instead of flowing out.

"We worked basically all through the night to help mitigate the water damage."

White said the flooding has helped the town identify some weak spots and it plans to make improvements to the drainage system.

The state of emergency was lifted Monday.