Cache Creek, May 2023 (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Surely the time has come to get serious about flooding

Sep 22, 2023 | 6:00 AM

IT’S BEEN CERTAINLY EVIDENT THIS WEEK at the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention — and in several stories in major newspapers — that major renovations are due regarding flood control policy in our province.

The fact that provincial and local officials knew about problems with the dikes in Merritt for years is only the tip of the iceberg.

Every year on our news assignment sheet, our news director and senior newspeople start to track places like Merritt, Bonaparte River, Cache Creek and Cherry Creek, among others. Our news stations in Kelowna do the same at Mission Creek and obviously do the same in Chilliwack.

Why? Because every year, the water levels come up quickly and flood the surrounding properties. Look at what happened in Cache Creek this year. Look at what happened in the Fraser Valley a couple of years ago. Every year, certain gullies flood major highways, disrupting traffic often for significant periods of time.

All of this is predictable, and yet it keeps happening because we don’t have a plan in place to handle these emergencies. Premier Eby recently announced yet another task force to deal with flooding, drought, wildfires and logging practices. Is it another stalling tactic by a government that doesn’t know what it’s doing and refuses to listen to the experts and to good old common sense? Or will it actually provide information that won’t gather dust on some shelf in a storeroom in the deep bowels of the Legislative building in Victoria?

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The drought has added a new measure of concern but again was entirely predictable. The local authorities are responsible for flood mitigation, but the province is the one responsible for enforcement. Their level of enforcement so far is pretty pathetic.

We should be happy that, in Kamloops, we have been very proactive in our flood control measures. There are always dangers but here, at least we have made a real effort to protect our citizens. The province has to make sure all municipalities are living up to higher standards.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.