RDKB Emergency Program closely monitoring river levels in the Boundary
By Boundary Sentinel
Emergency officials at the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary Emergency Program are currently monitoring river levels forecasted to rise quickly in the Boundary.
Environment Canada is calling for between 15 and 30 millimeters of rain are expected in the region over the next 48 hours.
“After such a long stretch of sunny weather, we just want residents to be aware that there may be a rapid rise in stream and river levels and muddy water that contains debris lifted from banks and channels,” said Mark Stephens, Interim Manager of Emergency Programs at the RDKB.
“We ask that residents exercise an abundance of caution around watercourses because riverbanks that may have been stable in the past could now be unstable after damage from 2018 flooding and may give way.”
The RDKB said current river levels in the Boundary are below a two-year return level, which can be interpreted as average or typical for freshet in the region.
The RDKB is working collaboratively with the BC River Forecast Centre who have indicated that the snowpack in the Boundary is almost gone. The snow that remains now is about one third of the amount that remained in the mountains this time last year. The expected rise in river levels will occur due to rain in the forecast rather than melting snow.
The RDKB encourages residents to register for the RDKB Emergency Alerting System at https://ca.voyent-alert.com/vras/user-registration.html.
Anyone who sees erosion or flooding can contact the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre at 1- 800-663-3456.
