Tracy Sim, Times-Chronicle
Now is the time to prepare for the spring thawing season, not when it’s already here, says the Regional District Okanagan South in its seasonal release last week.
Freshet or spring thawing season typically occurs in May, but it’s important for residents to understand the risks ahead of time and to take the proper steps now to reduce its potential impact.
If winter snowpacks melt rapidly and overwhelm stream channels, this creates flooding. Seasonal melting can also destabilize soil and rock, causing mud, land, and rockslides. These conditions can be unpredictable and occur with little or no warning.
It’s especially important to be aware of flooding potential if you live in an area that has had flooding in the past. The RDOS advises that you assess your property areas ahead of time and to identify issues and repair drain systems before the melt begins.
RDOS also encourages additional precautions like making sure you have a 72-hour emergency kit prepared and in your vehicles. Coping with emergencies ahead of time will make dealing with any crisis much easier.
Mark Pendergraft, Area A director serving the Osoyoos area, is encouraged that this year’s snowpack is not as high as the average which means the chances of flooding are relatively low presently. But Pendergraft warns against complacency by property owners and senior levels of government.
Pendergraft encourages property owners to be vigilant and says senior levels of government also need to assist with the cost of maintaining waterways that naturally gather silt over time. He says these areas need to be maintained in order to properly handle increased water flows during the spring thawing season or other extreme weather events.
Rick Knodel, Area C director serving the Oliver area, agrees that the snowpack in the lower mountain areas that would likely induce flooding is lower than normal this year, making localized flooding less likely.
Knodel strongly echoes Pendergraft’s remarks about stream maintenance by senior levels of government, recalling the seasonal flooding in the Sportsman Bowl Road area of Oliver in 2018, demonstrating how silted the local stream beds are in most areas. Streams simply can’t handle high water volumes when silt clogs their main flow areas.
It is clear to both Pendergraft and Knodel that although our immediate future looks stable, real challenges loom on the horizon for many communities throughout the province. They both fear future flooding events because of changes in our local weather patterns and the high overall cost to manage everything from stream realignment to the dredging of silt in critical areas, creating real challenges that will need to be addressed.
