Ever since June 8, Dwayne Tesarski’s life has been a living nightmare.
When the late spring floodwaters swept through the RM of Stuartburn, they did not spare him his property, just outside of Lonesand. Now sodden and uninhabitable, Tesarski is convinced his home is in worse shape than any other in southeastern Manitoba. One need only take a brief tour through the wreckage of his old life to find out why.
“Utter devastation,” is how Tesarski describes it. The cords of waterlogged wood and pieces of debris scattered throughout his yard resemble more of a battlefield than a lawn; washed out driveways and dikes only add to the fray. The exterior of Tesarski’s sheds and barns are similarly marred. A faint line on his buildings, over two feet above the ground in some spots, marks the height of the recent water levels. The inside of his home is even more disheartening.
“This was my master bedroom,” sighs Tesarski, stepping into his old living quarters. “It don’t look much like a master bedroom anymore.”
The bedroom, like most of his house, has been stripped to the bones. With nearly two inches of standing water left on his floor for a number of days, the tile bubbled up, the floor joists began rotting, and the lower sections of drywall
Tesarski says there are a few reasons why his home was impacted so severely by the floodwaters. The first has to do with the speed at which everything happened. In the past, he says, floods have been predictable: heavy rainfalls take about two days before they make their way down the Rat River, past his property. This event, however, happened almost entirely overnight. The force with which the waters moved meant Tesarski had a very short amount of time to prepare. While the RM did grant him a flood barrier, the waters breached it, which led to his second problem.
Soon after the water began spilling over the dam, Tesarski says it lifted the cap clean off of his septic tank. Floodwaters mixed with sewage and the area became a bio-hazard. At that point, he notes, any potential relief workers and volunteers were dissuaded from coming on-site due to the potential health risk. Furthermore, a fine of up to $10,000 for pumping sewage into provincial water bodies, meant there was nothing he could do.
“So for five days that water sat in that dike with nowhere to go.”
By the time the province conceded and allowed Tesarski to pump the dirty water away from his house, it was too late. The damage had been done.
Tesarski says the third big factor that played into this devastating flood was the nearby bridge. In 2013, Manitoba Infrastructure widened a bridge along Highway 12 that crosses over the Rat River by 30 feet. That bridge sits almost directly in front of Tesarski’s home. He assumes this enhancement was made to prevent the bridge from getting swamped, as it had been in 2002.
While the improvement did keep the bridge above water as well as ease water levels along the river’s eastern banks, Tesarski’s property, to the west, experienced the full brunt of its increased volume. He says government crews never gave any warning that this could be a byproduct of their work.
“The night of the flood, when I walked down the driveway with a laundry basket full of my personal belongings, I never thought in a million years that it would turn out to be like this,” offers Tesarski. “How I’ve been treated, how this has been handled… I just thought the government would have some type of protocol.”
Help has come from other sources though. Tesarski commends Christian Faith Ministries and Mennonite Disaster Services for assisting him in relocating his valuables and dismantling his house. Still, he says, any government aid has been uncomfortably absent from the process.
“Hey Mr. Pallister, hopefully you guys are doing something for me, because I’ve got nowhere else to turn,” he says, addressing Manitoba’s Premier. “My life has been turned upside down and sideways and I've basically been thrown to the sharks.”
La Vérendrye MLA Dennis Smook was there the day the flood peaked. He says he has never before dealt with a house that has been so significantly affected by flooding and so is not familiar with the process. He does, however, vouch for the debilitating condition of Tesarski’s home.
“The water was running full tilt and his yard was part of the river. As far as houses go I;’d say his house has to be one of the hardest hit,” he remarks. “I feel terribly for him because nothing could be done to prevent this.”
Smook is confident the province will come up with some form of compensation, but whether it will be enough for Tesarski remains to be seen.
Anyone interested in helping Tesarski is invited to visit his property at around 9 AM Saturday morning. He hopes to do a total yard clean up and says any and all volunteers are welcome. Tesarski's home can be found along Highway 12, just past Lonesand, and is the last house on the right before the Rat River bridge.
Tesarski is of the opinion that his flood insurance has actually hurt him, in this case. Once the province found out he had received a small payout, he feels they put his need on the backburner, without even reaching out to provide him room and board.
Fri, May 10, 7:00 PM
Full-time, Permanent, Salary, Administrative, Hospitality, Human Resources, Sales, Skilled Trades
Featured
