IMPENDING DOOMSDAY Area C alternate director agrees flood mitigation remains long overdue
Willowbrook residents are facing “impending doom,” says a local politician, after the first of what are expected to be multiple flooding events plunged the rural community west of Oliver into a state of emergency.
“Every day that we have a cooler day we step one day closer to a rapid melt and that will just increase the stress on this whole system,” said Rick Knodel, who serves as Area C alternate director on the board of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.
He was out Tuesday helping co-ordinate sandbagging efforts in the area of Kearns Creek, which is running high after water topped the Pringle Dam upstream over the weekend.
The dam was subsequently ordered by the B.C. government to draw down the water behind the dam with pumps, leading to the trouble downstream.
“The people are pulling together. The fire department is doing an awesome job. There’s a lot of people pissed off and I don’t blame them. Things should have been handled long ago,” said Knodel.
Flooding over the last two years led to discussions with various ministries, he said, over the condition of culverts and the replacement of a section of Kearns Creek taken out decades ago.
Louise Swetman a four-year resident of Willowbrook, was also out with over two dozen community members, who stepped up to help fill sandbags and prepare for more flooding.
“It’s like fighting a losing battle,” she said.
The flooding is a disaster for many families who won’t have insurance because old floods have made it difficult to get coverage.
“It’s definitely avoidable. The RDOS should have put everything in place before it happened. They’ve had lots of notice. This is not the first time,” Swetman said.
Knodel said he agreed there should have been more preparation and action from provincial ministries, though a large part of the current flooding can be attributed to recent rainfall.
“There’s a limit to how ready you can be. This is excessive runoff. It’s way more than last year. It’s way earlier. We’re not even sure where it’s coming from because the melt hasn’t started yet,” Knodel said, with snow still visible on the mountaintops behind him.
Those overseeing the Pringle Dam were caught off guard by how fast the water levels rose, Knodel said, adding the dam is redundant and there are talks of having it decommissioned now.
The 30-year resident of Willowbrook said he has had three new springs pop up in his yard, calling it “unheard of” in his time in the community.
“Even a slow melt is going to cause a lot of stress here and there is a lot more snow on those mountains than ever — in recent history I don’t believe we have any count on snow like this,” Knodel said.
The RDOS declared the local state of emergency Tuesday in order to provide additional resources in case of an evacuation.
Knodel said no residents have had to be removed from their homes as of yet.
Provincial workers are on the ground assessing the culverts and dam infrastructure.