‘Too much water, too fast’: Eston floods second time this summer

Basements and streets were submerged after a flash flood tore through Eston over the weekend.

The community, located 60 kilometres southeast of Kindersley, received between three-and-a-half to six inches of rain, depending on the area on July 19.

“It all came down in five-minute spurts,” according to Eston Mayor Darcy Morrice. “It was a pretty big event.”

While Morrice’s home wasn’t flooded, he said that’s because it’s on higher ground. Low-lying areas in the middle of town were impacted most.

Since Saturday, the focus has been on diverting water off streets and out of homes.

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“Crews have been working non-stop since Saturday afternoon, pumping out lift stations, clearing gutters and doing whatever they can to get the water moving away from the houses,” Morrice said.

He shared how the water treatment plant manager told him more than a million gallons of water have been pumped out since the storm hit.

It’s not the first time this season Eston has faced flooding.

In comparison to the regional park flood in June, the latest heavy rainfall hit the town of Eston much harder, impacting people’s homes and the community’s roads. (Town of Eston)

Weekend flood worse than last time

Earlier this summer in June, Eston Riverside Regional Park, just south of the town, flooded after rain overwhelmed the area’s drainage system.

The flood affected the community’s golf course, washed out a road and walking path, and left some cabins with minor water damage.

But, Morrice said the latest flood was worse.

“This one affected a lot more people,” he said, with the town only getting roughly two-and-a-half inches of rain in June.

Some of those affected this time owned cottages in the park, meaning they’ve now dealt with flooding twice in just a few weeks, Morrice said.

“People are pretty disappointed, pretty frustrated,” he said. “It’s kind of deflating and disheartening for them.”

Video shows flooding at Eston Riverside Regional Park golf course in June 2025 (Lorie Poulter/Submitted)

When asked whether this second flood is a consequence of failing or aging infrastructure, Morrice said that’s not the case.

“[It’s] just too much water, too fast. We have decent infrastructure. It just can’t keep up to that much water,” he said.

Morrice doubted whether other communities could better manage that amount of rain.

“I don’t know many communities infrastructure that could handle handle that,” he said, adding how most places would have flooding if they received as much water in a few hours.

While crews are still at work, Morrice says the roughly 1,000 people who live in Eston form a close-knit community.

Even with back-to-back floods, he said he’s confident they’ll recover “and be just fine.”

–With files from Jacob Bamhour