Excessive rain this past week is believed to have caused a large sinkhole in the back alley at 35 Ave. and 46 St., causing a manhole barrel to collapse and plug the sewer line.
For about 20 hours, residents on 35 Ave. were asked to not flush their toilets or run dishwashers or washing machines in order to avoid releasing waste water into the sanitary sewer line to prevent any sewage back-ups from occurring.
Affected residents were allowed to use the Ponoka Aquaplex showers and bathrooms and portable toilets were also set up at two locations in the area.
Town of Ponoka Public Works crews were onsite Friday evening working to repair the line and were back at work early Saturday morning to continue working on replacing the manhole barrel and repairing the plugged sewer line.
By about 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, crews had unplugged the sanitary sewer line and affected residents were then free to use their toilets, dishwashers and washing machines.
Crews were still working on site completing the replacement of the manhole barrel and back filling and cleaning up the site Saturday evening. The alley behind 46 St. remains closed and the public is asked to avoid the area.
