No decision yet on Saskatoon Nutana riverbank slumping

The City of Saskatoon and landowners in Nutana remain divided on what's causing a section of riverbank to fail.

Homes in the 200 and 300 blocks of 11th Street East and Saskatchewan Crescent East are at risk because of the unstable ground.

Yesterday, the city's executive committee received an engineering report from Golder Associates on the slumping bank.

The report said three factors were to blame: weak soil, a steep slope and a high groundwater table. The report went on to say these factors are affecting a large area of riverbank.

The Golder report went on to say the area could be remediated through building a rocky 'shear zone' and putting in pipes to drain the groundwater. The cost is estimated to sit around ten to 20 million dollars.

However, homeowners disagree on the report's findings. They believe the problem lies in Cherry Lane, an alleyway between Saskatchewan Crescent and 11th Street.

"Because Cherry Lane wasn't engineered to be a stormwater sewer, the water was migrating naturally off the entire length of the lane, for decades," said landowner Kent Rathwell.

City administration said area rain water plays a minute role in the slumping. Engineers compared the effect to 'an eyedropper in the ocean.'

"If you completely remove the rain and the stormwater off the surface, you still have those three factors at play: groundwater is still at play, steep slope and weak soil," said City Engineer Andrew Hildebrand. "And so the slope is still going to move."

Councillor Charlie Clark said the situation is complicated, and hopes to be able to come to some sort of agreement with the homeowners.

Homeowners will have the chance to address executive committee next month. After that, the report will be discussed at the council meeting in March.