Saskatoon riverbank shifting continues

After several weeks of movement, a section of Saskatoon's riverbank is still shifting and crumbling.

People in the Nutana neighbourhood on the southeast bank of the river have seen parts of their backyards falling away.

There have been temporary power outages and the natural gas had to be turned off. Homeowners are only now getting gas service restored thanks to special trailers — a temporary fix.

Among those who've been trying to cope with the situation is Marie Jensen, who was out Tuesday surveying the damage in her backyard on 11th St. E.

While she didn't have gas to heat her water, she had to take showers in her trailer, which had its own water heater.

Jensen is wondering when the problems will be over and who's going to pay for all the inconvenience.

"My understanding is, if this is deemed a disaster then we'll get some help," she said. "If it isn't, then who does pay for it? Is this all on the homeowner? I don't know. I have a little trouble with that."

SaskEnergy is trying to limit the trouble in the area and has set up emergency trailers in the neighbourhood to supply natural gas to the homes.

Casey MacLeod, a spokesperson for the utility, said SaskEnergy is working with engineers to see if it can repair the gas lines underground. But there may not be an immediate fix.

"We can't find a permanent solution until the ground is permanently stable, basically," she said.

Residents of about 50 homes are using the temporary trailers for gas. The trailers have to be refilled every seven to 10 days.