Nicola River along Highway 8 (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

FLOOD PLAN

TNRD to consider flood plan for Highway 8 communities

Jan 18, 2024 | 7:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — In the aftermath of the 2021 atmospheric river, which brought devastating floods to the community of Merritt and along Highway 8, the Thompson Nicola Regional District will consider a motion to work toward a new flood plan.

The motion from Area ‘I’ Director Tricia Thorpe is about ensuring the communities throughout the region work together and don’t piece-meal together a flood mitigation plan for the Coldwater and Nicola River system.

“What Merritt does impacts what happens in Area ‘M’, Area ‘N’ and my area which is Area ‘I’, which goes from Dot (Ranch) all the way down to where it meets the Thompson on the Nicola there. If we don’t work together, we are all doing silos and we are all doing separate things, and we aren’t helping each other and we aren’t helping our residents,” said Thorpe.

With dike work expected to begin this spring in the city of Merritt, communities down stream along the Nicola River are currently unprepared for a potential influx of water.

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“Once we start working, it’s going to impact (us),” said Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz. “It doesn’t matter how much you do on a dike or anything else, if you make a change you are going to impact people down stream. Somebody else is going to get that problem. We need to make sure everybody down stream has an answer and its being looked at. That why this motion is being brought forward — to get the ball rolling for the TNRD to say here is what we are going to do and here is how we are going to fix it.”

While the potential damage from freshet or another atmospheric river wouldn’t devastate his community, Mayor Goetz was quick to answer the call.

“Merritt has a population of about 8,000, but around us is 14,500. There are three First Nation groups down there. I have family down there. Everybody else has farms down there. There needs to be some sort of guide for what’s going to happen when Merritt starts working their dikes and the water starts to go through quicker,” added Goetz.

With spring freshet only months away, a low snowpack could be a saving grace as the TNRD works to formulate a report and then possibly act on it.

“How it can potentially impact all those properties down stream on the Nicola and also potentially developing a plan for those properties along the TNRD as well. Because I think there is a lot of uncertainty, and we need to have a plan, we need to have a plan and be prepared. We don’t need repeats of 2021,” stated Thorpe.