Entire dock with five boats swept down North Saskatchewan River
A dock owned by the Edmonton Rowing Club broke free Monday morning and drifted downstream through the city during the heavy rainfall.
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An entire dock with five metal boats attached broke free Monday morning and drifted downstream through the North Saskatchewan River as the city struggled with record rainfall.
A resident crossing the Walterdale Bridge around 11:45 a.m. spotted the unusual debris floating down the swollen river. Three of the boats were upright; two had capsized and were being dragged along in the current.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services was notified at 10:50 a.m. and deployed its jet boat unit to monitor the dock. City of Edmonton park rangers then took over the response.
The dock and boats appear to belong to the Edmonton Rowing Club, which operates a boathouse and boat launch in Buena Vista Park in the city's west end.
The river's flow has intensified dramatically over the weekend. As of noon Monday, the river was flowing around 1,050 cubic metres per second — about double the rate recorded 48 hours earlier. The river also rose approximately 1.5 metres over that period. Water levels are expected to rise an additional 0.5 metres before the river peaks late Monday or early Tuesday, according to Alberta Environment.