Nature’s unpredictable power

Courtesy of the City of Quesnel:

Weekly Quesnel City Council column by Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson.  He can be reached via email here

This past weekend we experienced nature’s destructive power as Baker Creek swelled with spring melt and overflowed its banks. By Sunday, the Creek’s rushing waters had brought down trees and hydro poles, destroyed a water main and sewer line, eroded large sections of the Riverfront Trail and Wilma Hanson Park, and threatened one home. Over the course of the weekend, the City’s Public Works Department, private contractors, BC Hydro crews, and Fortis Gas workers were all forced to respond to one crisis after another, depending on what the Creek was doing moment by moment. The large trees and debris the Creek carried into the City kept changing where the force of the rushing waters was being directed, with many of the trees getting hung up on the Baker Creek Bridge at Anderson Drive, backing the water up and eroding the banks alongside the two auto dealers that flank the bridge. Notwithstanding the know-it-alls and armchair generals on social media, there was no predictability to what the Creek was doing at any given moment and no precedent for the level of simultaneous destruction of infrastructure experienced this weekend. It’s an understatement to say that all the crews responding to this event did an outstanding job under high duress and they deserve our appreciation and applause. City and contract crews will continue to work on protecting the Baker Creek Bridge, repairing the broken sewer line, putting protective rip rap along portions of the Riverfront Trail to prevent further erosion, and testing the water in the repaired main (the boil water advisory will remain in place until three tests are completed to the satisfaction of Northern Health).  As this work continues, City Staff will work with the Provincial Emergency Program and Emergency Management BC to secure provincial funding for the emergency work that was conducted during the flooding event as well as the critical repairs we’ll need to undertake in order to restore our infrastructure and stabilize the creek’s banks. Staff will also seek provincial funding for the comprehensive geotechnical and hydrological analysis that will be needed to develop a rehabilitation and remediation strategy for Baker Creek. Unplanned events like the flooding we experienced this weekend are a reminder to us all just how vulnerable we are to nature’s unpredictable power. Coming on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s also another reminder that the City needs to have the financial reserves and fiscal flexibility to address emergent and unpredictable issues when they arise. The long-term financial sustainability of the City of Quesnel is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of its elected Mayor and Council. With an increasingly unpredictable global economy and growing instability in natural ecosystems, Council must exercise prudence as it adjusts this year’s already approved budget. Council needs to do the right thing to ensure the long-term viability of our community by making principled decisions about any budget adjustments it makes. Baker Creek Flooding Resources www.quesnel.ca/baker-creek-flooding