Little Concern Of Flooding On Nechako

Friday, December 19, 2008 03:45 PM

Prince George - Ministry of Environment expert Lyle Larson says the Nechako is freezing up. Larson says the difference this year from last is that the temperature is stable and the volume of water in the Nechako is about one third of what is was last year.

Larson says the Fraser River froze up solid last Wednesday night and that started the Nechako backing up. He said the ice has now built up to one kilometre past the Foothills Bridge, but there is nothing to indicate there is a danger of flooding.

Larson was joined by Mayor Dan Rogers in a helicopter flight over the river today. Mayor Rogers says city surveyors will continue to monitor the level of the Nechako to see if there is any change, and while there is concern, there is no reason to be worried. (click on photo at right for Mayor Rogers' comments)

Chris Duffy, Manager of The Provincial Emergency Program in the province said this afternoon that his department is paying for the over flight along the river. "There is no public concern from our point of view", Duffy said, "there is no indication that the freezing river presents the same problem as occurred last year."

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Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 03:45 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: The_grandinquisitor on December 19 2008 5:14 PM

Isn't that what the mayor of Boston said after the cow knocked over the latern?

Posted by: whitewater on December 19 2008 5:39 PM

I find it hard to believe that the same river would freeze at the same temperature two years in a row. I hope the city starts pouring the warm water from the pulp mill to it again because that worked slick. If Alcan would just open the floodgates, we could have a deja vu�.

Posted by: diplomat on December 19 2008 7:31 PM

Wouldn't the river freeze up even faster when the water is shallow and there is less flow?

I'm just guessing of course 'cause I am not an ex-pert!

(Forget the 3,000 bucks per day warm water from the pulp mill shenanigans...it's like trying to thaw the ice in your driveway with warm water from a teakettle).

Cheers!

Posted by: lifesucks on December 20 2008 7:06 AM

Well all us folks in P.G. sit back and watch a repeat of last year. If the city is going to do anything ay all about the ice better do it now.The river by Winton Global and the shallow water by the other island on the P.G. Pulp Mill side was the first to freeze, we travel the road everyday and see it. I just wish the city would start putting the dycking on the P.G. Pulpmill Road right now get a head start on it. Or they waiting for the flood to happen then they can have the land on both sides of the river for their park, which once it floods will stay in the same shape as Cottonwood Park is disgusting. Good image the the city.

Posted by: giterdun on December 20 2008 8:05 AM

The Kenny Dam/Nechako resevoir is about 2 feet lower today than it was at this time last year. This should give us a margin of safety, however, we downstreamers are all dancing puppets at the end of Alcans string. If they pull the string then you better get your hip waders on.

Posted by: gus on December 20 2008 8:46 AM

Fly overs just allow one to see the surface .... gees, it's frozen over. Imagine that.

Spectral photography picks up where the waterflows are under the ice and can give some clue as to how contricted it might be.

I blieve you are right diplomat that, slower moving water will form solid ice more quickly. I think what the thinking is that the openings through which the water flows below the ice surface are consistent with last years openings and that the back up was due to too much water trying to get though openings that are too constricted. With less water flowing through, there should, then be a lower probability of a blockage.

What the probability of the openings being smaller than the ones in previous year is, I do not know. Doctors will no longer work without x-rays or even catscans to derive a diagnosis. I think if we are not taking spectral images of the river, we are working in the dark with voodoo science.