Sewer back up blamed for Legion lounge flood

The Westlock Legion hall will have to be shut down for several months after the lounge on the lower floor flooded.

Legion president Chuck Naylor said the lounge was flooded on Sept. 24 as a result of the town’s roadwork on 106 Street.

Although he doesn’t know exactly what happened, he said something happened with the roadwork to cause the sewer system to back up, covering the lounge floor in approximately 10 centimetres of dirty water.

“It’s a little bit of a disaster,” he said.

The flooding wasn’t discovered until the next morning when people coming in to work saw what had happened.

Naylor said although the flooding wasn’t very deep, the walls in the lounge absorbed the water to the point that roughly two feet of wall needs to be torn out and replaced before the lounge can reopen.

And to make matters more complicated, in the aftermath of the flood, it was discovered the walls contain asbestos, he said.

That discovery means the amount of work required to repair the lounge, not to mention the cost, is significantly more than had the walls been free of asbestos.

It’s estimated the entire job is going to take between three and four months, Naylor said. He did not have an estimate as to how much the repairs will cost.

Until the work starts in the lounge, he said all the downstairs activities will be moved to the upper floor, a move that seriously reduces the number and type of functions the Legion can host.

However, even that move is not going to last long. The upper floor is due for its own set of repairs, Naylor explained.

In July, a big rain storm resulted in a major roof leak that caused significant water damage to the parquet dance floor.

Combined with the downstairs flooding, the two repair jobs mean there will be no Legion for some time.

“We’re going to need to shut the whole Legion for repairs.”

Having the Legion shut down for such a long time is sure to have a negative effect on the organization’s fundraising efforts, especially with major events like Remembrance Day and the Christmas season fast approaching, he said.

In the meantime, Naylor said the Legion is doing everything it can to get back up and running quickly.

“We’re asking people to bear with us,” he said. “Don’t leave us. We will reopen, we just don’t know when yet.”

Although he would love to see the facility open again by January 2013, he admits the Legion would be “fortunate” to see that happen. Instead, if it takes longer, that’s OK.

“Our main effort is for our employees, members and the public to be kept out of harm’s way,” he said.