Officials shift flooding blame
The flow of Mission Creek through Kelowna surged to near-record levels early Tuesday and water overtopped the banks in several locations.
Heavy rain east of the city coupled with snowmelt almost quadrupled the creek’s velocity, to 115 cubic metres per second by 3 a.m. Tuesday from 30 cubic metres on Monday afternoon.
As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, the flow of the creek had fallen back to about 90 cubic metres per second.
A record flow of 124 cubic metres per second was set in early May 2018.
Water levels had risen almost to the base of the KLO Road bridge over the creek, and a large log was hung up under the structure.
“We do have some bridges that are affected with a little bit of blockage so we’ve got crews that are monitoring them, and we have some low-lying flooding in expected areas, along with the Shadow Ridge golf course,” said Sandra Follack, a deputy chief with the Kelowna Fire Department.
Between four and six properties on Radant Road were flooded, with the rest of the overflow affecting mainly roads, Follack said. Some homes have water in the basements, but no structures are threatened and there have been no injuries and no evacuations.
The KLO Road bridge was closed temporarily.
“We had to get rid of the debris that was causing some concerns,” Follack said. “We do have an excavator on site now to just keep an eye on it, and if anything else occurs, we’ve got them ready to go.”
Some water was also flowing over the Casorso Road bridge, Follack said at 9:30 a.m. “We’re looking into that right now,” she said during a Tuesday briefing.
The creek flow surged after heavy rain Monday. About 14 mm fell in Kelowna, according to Environment Canada, but a weather advisory issued earlier Monday warned of as much as 40 mm in the regions east of the city, where Mission Creek originates.
“There is expected to be a little bit more rain coming than was previously anticipated, so we’ll be keeping a good watch on things for the next 24 to 72 hours,” Follack said. “People should stay away from the creeks. Crews are out there, and we’ll be distributing sandbags at some locations shortly.
“If you’re noticing something that isn’t being actioned yet, please give a call into the city public works yard (250-469-8600),” Follack said.
FORECAST WAS WRONG?
A rainy forecast called inaccurate delayed the response to flooding along Mission Creek in Kelowna early Tuesday, officials say.
Crews were well prepared based on Environment Canada’s modest forecast, Follack said.
“We wouldn’t have done anything differently,” she said. “This rain event was not predicted. We were advised by (Environment) Canada we would not be seeing any significant amounts of rain.
“They predicted 20 mm. We got more than 65 in a very short period of time, so that’s three times as much rain as what we thought was coming, which is why we’ve got some localized flooding. It’s also bringing some debris down the creek, which is causing some issues.”
A local state of emergency was declared Monday afternoon after the flow in Mission Creek nearly quadrupled.
About 20 cars were removed from a flooded area of a parking lot at the airport.
On Monday, Environment Canada had issued a special statement that warned of rainfall up to 40 mm in Kelowna.
Follack said a rainfall measuring device maintained by the city along Mission Creek showed 65 mm of rain fell beginning Monday at midnight. “It’s an incredible amount of rain that nobody forecast.”
She said crews responded Tuesday morning with sandbags as soon as it was evident that flooding was occurring.
“The creek bed was overflowing into the streets and you’re just pumping it back into the creek,” she said, adding: “Even (Environment) Canada wasn’t sure what was coming in, so we do what we can.”