The handful of Altona residents who are impacted by flooding along 2nd Street NE are not going see relief any time soon.

Altona town council has decided not to move on an upgrade of the drainage system in that part of town until it can get the province and the federal government to help fund the project.

An engineers report recommended installing a new lift station along the roadway for $1.4 million in an effort to push water out of that area of town and reduce the overall flood effect during rainfall events.

Altona 2nd Street flood study unveiled to the public last month

"We don't have those dollars right now unless we were to let all our other projects go and spend all the money on this one," said Mayor Melvin Klassen.

The decision is a tough pill to swallow for the half-dozen residents who are impacted by the water that is quick to collect and slow to drain along that portion of 2nd Street.

The drainage system is so inadequate that even a moderate rainfall forces the town to close the street to traffic to prevent the creation of wave action that rolls up onto properties.

Klassen said the town would need to tap into programs like the Building Canada infrastructure fund in order to fix the issue.

"They are generally looking for projects which towns cannot handle on their own. Right now they are looking at a 40-40-20 funding split between the federal, provincial and municipal governments. That would make it affordable."

Klassen says town council has made the 2nd Street NE drainage issue it's top choice for Building Canada project submissions.

"The project is shovel ready. The problem is, while the federal government has allocated funding for the program, they are not releasing any of it. So, we've been stymied on this front."