Days after provincial emergency response teams, engineers and flood hazard experts began working to try and protect properties and public roads along the swelling shorelines of the Cottonwood River near Quesnel, work has discontinued out of concern for worker safety.
Shortly after being identified at an elevated flood risk by the River Forecast Centre, water levels from high snow pack melt began flooding a small subdivision adjacent to its shores. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) responded, along with Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO) and their water stewardship experts. Heavy machine excavation began to build trenches and rock rip rap to divert the water flow away from the properties, and to stop or slow the bank erosion creeping towards the residences.
However, as river conditions worsened yesterday, the decision to stand down was made by a team of senior operations and management staff from three key ministries (EMBC, FLNRO, MOTI) and in consultation with the regional district based on a combination of technical, logistical and practical, as well as short and long term economic considerations which included: the scope of the work required to protect these properties; the timeframe required to construct these protective works; the low probability of success for this field work; the lack of adequate large volume of materials near the site to support the project logistically; and significant risk to worker safety on unstable river banks.
Residents in the affected area have been offered Emergency Social Services as well as assistance with moving and secured storage for their belongings. The Province will continue to work with the Cariboo Regional District to support, guide and provide access to resources for the affected families and as the flooding situation continues across the region.
The Cottonwood River is a meandering river with a known history of open water, log jam and ice jam flooding, and river bank erosion problems. The River is north of Quesnel in the Quesnel/Hixon and Landry Road area and remains under Flood Warning. The Cariboo Regional District Emergency Operations Centre is activated and issued a Declaration of Local State of Emergency on May 12, 2011. Eight residences are threatened due to bank erosion and flooding. One home is imminently threatened by bank erosion, two others are under evacuation order, and six more residences are under evacuation alert.
For more information on local emergency responses visit the Cariboo Regional District at www.cariboord.bc.ca and to learn more about this and other flood warnings and advisories in effect, visit http://bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca/warnings/index.htm
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