It has been an especially wet spring in Southern Alberta.

Here in Cochrane, we've already had a handful of thunderstorms in the last month, but we've been quite lucky in comparison to our neighbours in Calgary.

Last week's thunderstorm brought on torrential rain and damaging hail causing flash flooding. The Calgary area saw over 48 millimetres of rain in a one-hour period during the storm, and parts of the Deerfoot Trail were affected by such intense flooding that cars had to be rescued by raft.

The heavy rainfall accumulation combined with tennis-ball-sized hail overwhelmed the city's storm drains.

Fire Inspector Jeff Avery with Cochrane Fire Services says that these catch basins are crucial for flood prevention. He says to ensure that they're doing their job effectively they should be clear of debris. "With some debris on the road, sometimes construction materials get caught up too. If you see it around a storm drain near your house, absolutely pick it up." 

Avery says that the operations and roads departments are on top of storm drain maintenance around town. He says, however, if we do notice a cause for concern to report it. "Call the operations department, and the roads department can come and clean it up. I know they're pretty diligent in cleaning out the catch basins when they do get reported. It's a large job though so if somebody does see one that's plugged up clear it off if you can or give the roads department a call."

June is historically the wettest month in Southern Alberta. This time last year many Cochrane neighbourhoods were dealing with intense flooding due to an overwhelmed stormwater system and heavy rainfall.