The Town of Neepawa is one of many places in southwest Manitoba to declare a state of emergency following waves of heavy rain that began last weekend.
Neepawa joins other areas like Rivers, Brandon, and Minnedosa that have been heavily affected by rising water levels, washed-out roads, and business closures.
Landon Cameron is the general manager at Neepawa Golf & Country Club, and tells CKDM Neepawa is dealing with a very serious situation.
“We were sandbagging [Thursday] morning for a friend at his house at 6:45 a.m., and the road had about six inches of water on it. Within two minutes it was up to my waste. Neepawa flash flooded yesterday.”
The Neepawa Golf & Country Club was shut down on Monday as the water quickly covered almost the entire course.
“All within an hour. We were still open on Monday, then at 3:30 p.m. we shut down the front nine because we were starting to see some water seeping in — and then by 4:15 p.m. we were completely underwater.”
Landon says he’s experienced spring flooding with snow melting, but this is the first mid-season flash flood he’s ever been apart of.
He says it’s a “hurry-up-and-wait” kind of mentality at the Country Club right now.
“We’ve got some volunteers and grounds guys out there trying to pump what we can pump. Once the river goes back within its banks we’ll be going 18-20 hour days to try and get the water moving off the course so it can dry out and make it playable.”
Helping Hands
Once again, it appears these challenging times have spurred Manitobans to do what they do best — help out their neighbours. Landon thanks a few nearby golf courses for stepping up and offering members from Neepawa Golf & Country club a place to play at a reduced rate.
“Shout out to all those golf courses for having some compassion for our members. Carberry, Portage, Oak Island Resort, Gilbert Plains, and Poplar Ridge. We really appreciate those places stepping up and giving our members somewhere to play and get their mind off this week.”
