A catch basin is blocked near Riverside Park ahead of the 2020 flood season (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Stephanie Swensrude

FLOOD PREP

City of Kamloops bracing for potential floods with ‘well-prepared’ team

Jun 1, 2022 | 4:48 PM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops is preparing for a flooding event similar to that of 1999 this year, according to the City’s utility services manager Greg Wightman.

The unseasonably cool spring so far has delayed snowmelt by about a month. While Kamloops usually sees flooding around the middle of June, Wightman said flooding could likely occur closer to Canada Day.

Wightman said the City has a “well-prepared and dedicated” team ready to respond to a flood event. The City is ready to distribute sand and sandbags. They’ll check river levels daily and provide ten-day flooding forecasts. Crews will inspect pumping systems and City dikes.

“What looks like a pathway on McArthur Island is a private dike, and that’s now protected all the critical infrastructure on McArthur Island to a 1-in-20 event, which puts us just beyond a 1999 event,” said Wightman.

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“And I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the Riverside Park flood protection project… Obviously, the spray park is still under construction but the flood protection piece is complete,” he said.

The province is ready to step in if need be.

“EMBC (Emergency Management BC) has been really proactive in reaching out to us to say, “What might you need?” And because of the tools that we have we’re able to show them at the different river levels — if 1999 is a prediction, this is exactly what we’re going to need,” said WIghtman.

The risk of a severe flooding event would be exacerbated by a stretch of days with above-average temperatures, heavy rain (more than 30 mm) and both the North and South Thompson Rivers peaking at the same time.

Wightman appealed to the public, asking Kamloops residents to call in and report flooding issues to the city’s non-emergency line at 250-828-3461.

by Stephanie Swensrude

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City of Kamloops bracing for potential floods with ‘well-prepared’ team

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