Vanderhoof Bracing For Spring Melt

By 250 News

The municipality of Vanderhoof is gearing up for what is expected to be a harrowing spring run-off.

Alcan officials appeared before Vanderhoof Council mid-week to update Councillors on the situation at the Kenney Dam, where the water release is being kept at its minimum level for the time-being.

"But sooner or later, they’re going to have to increase the flow," says Vanderhoof Emergency Coordinator, Jim Furtado, "They’re just waiting for more information." 

Furtado says Alcan expects to have that data in the next couple of days and will host a public meeting for all Vanderhoof residents at the local high school next Wednesday evening.  But, he says, the river level is going to rise and there is the potential for some flooding, so precautions are being taken.

Furtado says a surveyor will spend the next couple of days doing GPS elevations on several new properties that don’t appear on the municipality’s existing flood maps.  "And we’ll go from there," he says, "If we have to start sandbagging some of the lower places that may be in jeopardy, we’ll do it on an ’as-needed’ basis."

So far, Alcan has been able to maintain its target flow rate of 400 to 500-metres per second at the Burrard Bridge in Vanderhoof, but Furtado says given the record snowpacks, the water release will have to be increased.  "Right now, it’s good (at the Burrard Bridge), it looks great.  If it never got any worse than this we’d be great, but, unfortunately, the chances are some minor flooding in low-lying elevations will happen."

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us