Friday, June 26, 2020

City of WL Crews Continue Rebuilding Roads, Sewer Infrastructure in WL River Valley

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

Crews continue to rebuild road access and armour river banks in the River Valley, as part of an ongoing strategy to mitigate damage caused by significant flooding on April 23 that ruptured a sewage line connected to the City of Williams Lake’s sewage treatment lagoons near Williams Lake Creek.

The work has been part of a massive mobilization effort initiated by a Unified Command at the City of Williams Lake's Emergency Operations Centre, involving the City of Williams Lake (COWL), Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN), Emergency Management British Columbia (EMBC) and B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (MOE).

The Unified Command group was established to share information through daily coordination calls to keep all parties apprised of all aspects of the situation. The Unified Command group has led the emergency response work, cooperating with additional agencies in an effort to protect residents and the affected environment.

EMBC is transitioning back to their regional coordination role for site support and providing a Liaison for the Unified Command. Unified Command is now comprised of WLFN, MOE and COWL.  Unified Command would like to recognize the team at EMBC for their multi-agency coordination, support, and hard work during this complex emergency response.

The ruptured sewage pipe is being repaired, in hopes of halting the flow of treated effluent into the river, while an independent contractor has been hired to collect water and soil samples for testing. They have been sampling since April 28.

The work is anticipated to continue throughout the summer. Updates will be provided weekly by the Unified Command.

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