Following a long weekend of heavy rain and with the region under a high streamflow advisory, the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary says it’s a good idea to start preparing for the freshet.
“The changing seasons is a good reminder for the public to review their personal preparedness plans,” said emergency programs manager Mark Stephens in a news release.
“With the changing conditions we’re also reminding residents to be extra vigilant near riverbanks and to stay away from them, particularly with pets and children,” he adds.
The regional emergency program monitors the snow pack, river levels and weather conditions closely and compares these conditions to the RDKB’s flood response plan.
The Boundary is one of the few areas in the province with an abnormally-high snowpack. It stood at 123 per cent at the beginning of March. The next monthly bulletin is due out Wednesday.
Stephens said all of the RDKB got poured on over the weekend, but Greater Trail received the heaviest amounts.
“Low-elevation streams and creeks are quite swollen right now,” he said. “We expect those to start going down over the next couple of days.”
Stephens said there have been some isolated washouts of roads and rights-of-way in municipalities, and adds that it is common for catch basins and culverts to get overwhelmed.
“We will continue to monitor conditions throughout this year’s freshet to keep the public and stakeholders up to date with any changes. If you have experienced flooding in the past or know that your property can experience flooding, it’s a good time to exercise personal preparedness.”
Even though the RDKB emergency operations centre is not activated, its team has begun to review the weather and stream flow daily throughout the region. It will be publishing the freshet dashboard weekly until it gets closer to peak Freshet season, and more frequent reports are needed. These can be accessed at emergency.rdkb.com.