From battering rainfall to big rocks: a post-flood State of the Union
By Kyra Hoggan
With the sun shining and no severe weather warnings pending, it’s perhaps acceptable to begin hoping the worst of the rain is over, after a month that shattered precipitation records by a 68-per-cent margin (although showers are predicted for Sunday).
As of Wednesday, the Southeast Fire Centre recorded 204.9 mm of rain, as compared to the average June’s 66 mm. The previous June record was 118 mm in 2005, while the previous record for any month was 195.1 mm of precipitation in December of 1996.
But while the rain itself has eased off, all its impacts have not – Millennium Walkway downtown and the Zuckerberg Island causeway remain submerged in several places, the Columbia River is cresting high-water marks and Mayor Lawrence Chernoff has asked BC Hydro to keep flow levels from the Hugh Keenleyside Dam at current levels as erosion around city sewage lagoons has become a concern.
“Aside from that, there’s nothing of consequence – we’re just cleaning up wash-outs from gravel lanes and shoulders, that kind of thing,” said city director of Transportation and Civic Works Chris Barlow.
City Canada Day celebrations, including the movie in the park, have been postponed to July 22 due to forecasted rain, but Environment Canada is only predicting showers, not a deluge.
For those of you wondering about the fate of a massive boulder deposited on Broadwater Road (pictured here) on the way to Syringa, the Ministry of Transportation reports that it will be drilled and blasted today (Thursday).
As for local waterways, BC Hydro reports that, “As of June 27, the Arrow Lakes Reservoir elevation is at 1440.6 feet and rising at a rate of 0.4 feet per day. The discharge from the Arrow Lakes Reservoir continues to be approximately 55,000 cubic feet per second. “
Elsewhere in the region, Kootenay Lake has reached a level of 1753.1 feet. In Area D, the loss of a dam on Kemp Creek that controlled the Village of Kaslo’s primary water system has prompted the village to declare a State of Local Emergency. Currently, the backup emergency system is providing water to residents although strict rationing is in effect. States of local emergencies remain in place in Areas A, B, C, H and I.
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