Nechako River Under Close Observation
Helicopter surveillance of Nechako River ice build-up conducted on Friday. Photo 250News
Prince George, B.C. – Officials with the City of Prince George and Emergency Management BC are keeping a close watch on the ice build-up on the Nechako River in the event an emergency situation arises over the weekend.
The City, on Friday, activated a level-one emergency operations centre after officials observed an increase in water levels in the final two kilometres of the Nechako leading to the confluence with the Fraser River. Prior to that, on Thursday the Heritage River Trail between Kiwanis Park and the Cameron Street Bridge was closed by the City when the river level rose parallel to the river bank.
While Cottonwood Island Park is still open at this point Emergency Management personnel and officials with the City conducted aerial observations of the river Friday afternoon to assess possible problem areas and threats posed by the ice build-up.
A City Hall spokesperson says a second area of concern is the change of the weather from freezing cold to near-zero temperatures which is forecast to arrive in the Prince George area on Sunday.
The spokesperson says it’s a bit of a double-edged sword: the frozen ice can cause problems with water movement while at the same time keeping everything still; and the sudden change in temperatures, from Saturday night’s low of minus 17 to Sunday’s high of minus 1 and low of minus 3, raises concerns of sudden thawing and melting and problems that may create.
At this time officials are keeping a close watch on the Nechako and 250 News will keep you up to date on new developments through the weekend.
Comments
GUESS WHAT — The river is all froze up except for a small trickle on the north side. Didn’t have to spend $1000.00 per hour to find this out . Just drive up past the jail and look back. Drive across Cameron St. bridge, look up and down. Common sense. The river channel needs to be dredged out so that proper flow can be achieved.
There is no flooding. The channel is on the north and has been there for decades and more.
The south channel is being bypassed, it is a natural development in a river bend which will continue to progress that way as decades and centuries pass.
Dredging is useless. Dredging fights mother nature. Anyone who does that will lose the battle eventually. Work with the river, not against it.
That’s why the govt spends millions each year dredging the lower Fraser, because it doesn’t work.
BTW, a drone would have been cheaper and done a better job.
More fun to ride in a helicopter on someone else’s dime.
Dredging will make the channel deeper. In deeper water ice will not form as easy and water will flow faster. It is obvious that the scientific method does not work. Lets use an old school fix.
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