Mayo River flood threat recedes

The threat of flooding in Mayo, Yukon, is receding on Thursday, now that an ice jam on the Mayo River has been broken.

Crews with Yukon's Emergency Measures Organization broke the ice jam on Wednesday, after the ice had raised water levels in the river, which runs through part of the village of Mayo.

"The water was starting to go down yesterday afternoon, quite fast, so hopefully the situation is over," Norma Mease, a Mayo resident and community reporter for CBC Radio, said Thursday.

Water levels had been rising since last week, causing the river to overflow its banks along the local dike road.

Emergency officials say the water has seeped through the dike under the road, which consists of a gravel bed to keep the river back, so the roadway remains saturated.

That saturated road continues to flood the home of the Klippert family, whose property is located nearby.

"The flooded property hasn't seen any change, but that in itself is a positive in terms of there hasn't been any increase overnight," said Chris McPherson, a planning co-ordinator with the emergency organization.

Members of the Klippert family have said their well and septic system are flooded with the highest amount of groundwater they have ever seen in Mayo.

But with temperatures currently in the 20 C range, McPherson said there is no easy way to get rid of the excess water.

"So while it's obviously very distressing for the Klippert family, we are quietly confident that we've reached the maximum effect now and hopefully we should start to see some recession of those waters," he said.

The high wateralso floodedthe nearby Yukon Energy diesel plant, which is right next to the river.

Meanwhile, a boil-water advisory that was introduced in Mayo last week remains in effect.