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Friday, July 6, 2012
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Officials hopeful over river flooding
SLIDING INTO SUMMER
RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
LISA VANDERVELDE/ MORNING STAR
Jeremy Lidstrom, of Calgary, holds on to his children Brett, three, and Brooke, four, as they enjoy the start of summer at Atlantis Waterslides Thursday.
High water wipes out bridges RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
Flooding has left Greater Vernon hikers high and dry. Four trail bridges have sustained significant damage because of a swollen BX Creek. “They are either completely removed from where they were located or they are completely trashed,” said Keith Pinkoski, a parks planner with the Regional District of North Okanagan. That means a popular recreational amenity is unavailable. “We want to make sure they are replaced,” said Pinkoski. However, a significant challenge is finding the about $15,000 per bridge that is required to move ahead with
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“We don’t want a Cadillac but we don’t want to replace them every year.” — Mike Macnabb the work. “We have not budgeted for replacement in 2012,” said Pinkoski, adding that the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee will have to determine a source of funds. The price tag is based on current specifications for constructing bridges. “The problem is the current bridges were just put in,” said Mike
Macnabb, GVAC chairperson. “The new ones are built higher and they won’t get washed out. We don’t want a Cadillac version but we don’t want to replace them every year.” It’s anticipated replacement could begin late this summer or during the fall. “We don’t want to move ahead too quick because high water will be in place until about mid-July,” said
Pinkoski. Beyond the bridges, a section of BX Creek trail has been washed out at Deleenheer Road and 20th Street, near Wal-Mart. “We’ve got a few calls from people on that,” said Pinkoski. Another issue that RDNO is looking at is the closure of East Vernon and Tillicum roads because of flood damage. Macnabb says the closures have caused access issues for residents and emergency crews and he wants to know when the Ministry of Transportation will proceed with repairs. The ministry stated recently that work cannot proceed until water levels drop.
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There is cautious optimism about conditions along the Shuswap River. North Okanagan E m e r g e n c y Management believes the potential for flooding has lessened although an evacuation alert remains for those living along the river from Sugar to Mara lakes. “Things are looking promising,” said Gord Molendyk, emergency operations centre spokesperson. As of Thursday, the river was deemed to still be at the flood watch stage. “Levels went down three centimetres Wednesday and it’s expected to keep going down over the weekend,” said Molendyk. “There is still the possibility of snow melt but there’s not a lot left in the Sugar Lake/ Shuswap River system.” The initial disaster financial assistance application for the region has now been processed and forwarded to the provincial government for its approval. “Local residents in the affected areas will be advised if and when it has been approved,” said Molendyk. Residents doing flood-related repairs are urged to save receipts and document the work with photographs.
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