Flood Concerns

Monday, March 12, 2007 05:00 AM

The heavy winter snowfall is raising new concerns about possible flood levels along the Fraser through Prince George. The most recent snowpack report says as of March 1 most of B.C.'s river basins have accumulated above or well above normal snowpacks.

The report says the Nechako basin, along with the Skeena and Bulkley have record high values. There isn't one area of B.C. showing below normal snowpacks.

The Ministry of the Environment is now forecasting runoff levels that will be higher than normal for most river basins, including, the Fraser, Nechako, Thompson Skeena and Peace.

That means there should be a favourable spring and summer water supply for the Peace region, the Nechako basin, as well as the Thompson -Nicola area. That's good news, as last year the areas suffered a significant drought.

However, there is a potential for flooding.

Higher than normal snowpacks, mixed with warmer than normal temperatures and heavy rainfall in May or June could pose flood problems for Prince George and all other communities along the Fraser, as well as areas in the Peace and Nechako basins, the Thompson, the Skeena and Bulkley rivers and their tributaries.

The Nechako, upper Fraser, Peace and Skeena are all in the 130 to 150 per cent of normal range. A number of individual snow courses in these areas are at record high values for the date. Much of the rest of the Interior has well above normal snowpacks (110 to 130 per cent), including the Middle Fraser, Quesnel Highlands, Similkameen,
Columbia, Nicola/Coldwater and lower Fraser. The North Thompson and South Thompson are 114 per cent and 110 per cent, respectively.

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Posted on Monday, March 12, 2007 05:00 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on March 12 2007 8:03 AM

We need more electrical power and we want to prevent anyone from seeing caribou. So lets dam up the McGregor River. Can't log there anyway because of the caribou, so lets dam up the McGregor. Save the caribou and make power.

All them loggers are rich anyway, so who cares about them. Besides they still have beetle wood.

The environmentalists might squawk, as usual, but they don't work so no effect on their life. Besides, ever see an eco that keeps the lights off, or doesn't complain about the power bill?

Win win for everybody, and the caribou.

Almost forgot, the last time us Northerners lost harvest ground to a dam, the Williston, we were promised cheap power to make up for the loss of livelihood. This time we don't loose harvest ground.

But then along came the NDP, and a water tax of a billion dollars a year was added to the BC Hydro bill. Anyway that promise is probably still available until the next time the NDP thugs show up with an idea. HeeHee!

Posted by: chickenbus on March 12 2007 8:19 AM

Does anyone know if and how much (in percent) of the beetle kill fund is being dedicated to replanting the forests? The amount of erosion caused by the snow melt this year will be tremendous (I predict) and in future winters unless we get roots into the land again.

Posted by: supertech on March 12 2007 8:24 AM

what snow? Isn't this supposed to be global warming? OK -- someone lied.

Posted by: Gofaster on March 12 2007 8:28 AM

Seems to me it wasn't all that long ago that they were worried about not having enough snow in the upper levels...
whouldn't it be nice if they made up there minds or at least wait and see how things go before getting into doomsayer mode, one way or the other?

Posted by: supertech on March 12 2007 8:45 AM

A stable climate is a very dangerous oxymoron. Climte change is the norm, not the exception. Once we get that into our heads, we will stop worrying about snowpack until it slides into our yard.

Posted by: zoom on March 12 2007 9:51 AM

Doomsayers and fear mongering about the climate and flooding is nothing new. Within my lifetime I have been hearing about drought and floods on a regular basis, as well as global destruction because of global warming, and the destruction of the earth because of global cooling. I'm with Gofaster in as much as which is it...probably the one that will generate the most money for scientists and environmentalists.

Posted by: owl on March 12 2007 10:00 AM

And those who build in watershed areas known to flood are called????

environmentalists???? industrialists???? stupid????

Posted by: Andyfreeze on March 12 2007 10:06 AM

NOAH....BUILD AN ARK!

Posted by: Gofaster on March 12 2007 11:50 AM

The sad part there Owl , is, they keep building in the same spot year after year, get flooded out, yearly, complain yearly, demand government aid yearly,
and I think they must get it yearly, as they keep rebuilding in the same spots...every year!

what is wrong with this picture???

Posted by: chickenbus on March 12 2007 12:20 PM

So, back to my question - I guess no one knows how much is being spent on replanting. Ben - can you answer this one for me?

Posted by: owl on March 12 2007 4:41 PM

chickenbus ....

The simple answer is that the areas devastated by the MPB will, for the most part, be replanted in much the same way as any loss of free-to-grow timber area has been replanted for decades.

How much will be spent, and where the money will come from, whether federal beetle dollars or provincial, that is another matter. But they will come.

Some areas have been harvested and can be used for forest products, so I would think that those will be replanted under licensee contracts.

As for the rest, the areas still have standing trees. So the first question really becomes who will pay to remove the standing trees. Or whether they should be or need to be removed. Planting is useless unless the trees are first removed if there is a chance that the trees can be removed for processing. It is also useless since those trees have a much higher risk of fire. Thus any planting will be for nothing if they go up in fire.

The MoF and foresters working on this are in the midst of making decisions of what is the best approach. If you look at the MoF�s strategic plan to deal with the aftermath of the outbreak, you will see that this is still decision time and that next year will be the start of the ramping up of activities based on decisions of how best to approach the problem.

Then we have those people such as the Suzuki Foundation who I would think would be in favour of treating this in a natural way � leave it alone and it will regenerate itself.

Posted by: owl on March 12 2007 4:43 PM

A self reading exercise .... http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/HFP/mountain_pine_beetle/actionplan/2005/obj3.htm