Flood warning issued for areas north of Peace River

Alberta Environment and Parks has issued a flood warning for areas north of Peace River.

The provincial department says it is receiving reports ofsevere flooding along the Whitemud River near the hamlet of Dixonville, about 60 kilometres northwest of Peace River.

Aninformation alertsays the Highway 35 bridge might be constricting flow, resulting in higher water levels upstream, flooding roads and farmland.

The flooding is another setback for farmers in the area, saidJohn Krysztan,who farms 10,000 acres near Dixonville.

More than 1,000 acres of his land have flooded, with water as deep as one metre in some places, Krysztan said.

As well, last year's grain crop is still on 4,000 acres of his land. It couldn't be harvested before the early snow last fall.

"We've never seen anything play out so badly for us here," he said. "Leaving the crop out last year because of the weather and nowwe can't get that crop because it's so wet this spring and now all this flooding.

"I don't think we'll be able to put in quite a bit of crop."

Water levels have risen 1.5 metres since last Saturday, but no significant rain is expected in the next 48 hours.