On January 4th, Environment Canada announced that Estevan had the snowiest December in 100 years, clocking in at 52 centimetres. This put the snow removal crews in a tough position, making them operate longer hours than usual. However, all of that is now a page in the history book. 

"On Thursday afternoon (January 5), we completed 100% of the city; removing the windrows off the main arteries and hauling them away. As well, we were up early shaving down ice ruts out of Priority One streets," announced Roads and Drainage Manager, Norm Mack. 

"We've completed three big storms and the guys need a rest."

He also notes that they are planning for long term, and for future storms if they come.

"Right now, a lot of snow is being piled up in the city, whether it be contractors or the public. We're asking people to be careful where they put their snow and how they pile it. A lot of [them] cause blind spots for motorists."

"We want to make sure our drainage isn't obstructed by snow banks or blocking culverts. We're also pushing snow dump sites. We've had more snow in the month of December [recently] than we've had in a hundred or some years, so as you can imagine, a lot of snow was hauled out," Mack further explained. 

"You don't know what's in the future for us in this business, so we want to prepare for the worse and make sure we're ready for the storm."

"To solve that, we're taking a look at other spots that we may have to open up to contain the snow for future storms. Alternative dump sites are also an option for us.

"It's a huge undertaking, but the City of Estevan and its contractors have done a really good job. It wasn't too long ago that this last Christmas storm was upon us, but one week later, we got everything pretty much cleaned up," he concluded. 

Blue flashing lights are now installed to snow removal equipment and are activated when they are in operation. Mack asks motorists to be careful around the machines.