Flood Efforts In A Holding Pattern

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 04:11 AM

The Amphibex sat idle yesterday (photo courtesty of City of PG)

Prince George, B.C. - Today marks Day 50 since the first flooding incident occurred as a result of the icejam on the Nechako River...

Efforts to mitigate the impact of any further ice shifts and surges were stuck in a bit of a holding pattern yesterday -- the Amphibex was sidelined for the day, somewhat a victim of its own success.

The amphibious excavator -- with help from Mother Nature -- sent such a large volume of ice downriver into the Fraser over the weekend, that it created a jam at the CN rail bridge. City officials gave the unit yesterday off, to re-assess. Eco Technologies, the owner of the Amphibex, has an agreement with the City that runs through today, but emergency officials haven't yet decided whether to extend that contract.

Meantime, the City and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Team will host the second Community Flood Information Forum at the Civic Centre at 7pm tonight. The meeting will consist of a brief presentation with the most up-to-date flood information for city residents, followed by a question-and-answer session.

The first forum went last Tuesday and attracted between 70 and 80 people.

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Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 04:11 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: RRrabbitt on January 29 2008 5:43 AM

Okay folks.... time to get serious...

Bandar!.. Tokee!.. Wilbert! .. quickly now !!.....

RELEASE THE ICE WORMS !!

RELEASE THE ICE WORMS !!

Goodtimes !!

:-)

Posted by: diplomat on January 29 2008 8:05 AM

That Amphibex is one tough little rascal! It cleared 5km or more of that stubborn ice jam and if it had been at work just a couple of weeks earlier the whole river would be flowing freely now!

Let's keep it here because the weather is about to warm up again!

Posted by: heidi1555 on January 29 2008 8:38 AM

diplomat you are the best! I sure hope they extend the contract :)
It sure is putting up a good fight isn't it?
Under the CN bridge is mounds (not small) of sandy gravel. My kids had a blast playing under there in 2006 when the river dried up through there.

Someone pointed out Google Earth the other day so I went on it and it sure shows you good detail of the area. Pretty neat.

Posted by: Littlebear on January 29 2008 8:45 AM

I agree with Diplomat that if the Amphibex would have started earlier we probably would not have the problems we do now. This machine has done a good job but it was a monsterous task considering how far it was behind and the way the weather has been.
While it is an expensive piece of machinery I think the province should be buying one and having it on call so we can get faster response times. This is the second major ice jam on the Nechako, I can think of one in Hixon(creek is probably to small) and at least 2 out in the Smithers area on the Bulkley in the last 10 years or so.
A machine on call with a trained crew and an action planwill save millions in property damage, lost time, and personal stress. Oh well maybe after 2010 after all we live beyond Hope

Posted by: gitterdun on January 29 2008 9:56 AM

At over $4000/hr the City should be renamed PG649.....

Posted by: Palopu on January 29 2008 10:02 AM

Lets keep things in perspective. The Amphibex merely widened a channel in the river that water was already flowing through, and as a result the ice broken off the edges etc; drifted down to jam at the CN Bridge. This was 100% predictable.

The water was flowing freely through the North Channel of the Nechako and through Cottonwood Park before this machine arrived.

Ice on a River does not equate to an ice jam. I suspect that the Fraser River is frozen all the way to Jasper, and that the Fraser South of the Simon Fraser Bridge is frozen all the way to Quesnel.

What we are dealing with here is an unusually high amount of water for this time of year in the Nechako River. Mainly because of the release from the Kenny Dam. This has caused ice jams and flooding, and will continue to do so until the water recedes.

Making a wider channel between the toe of the frozen river and the confluence at the CN Bridge will have little or no effect.

If the ice West of the Cameron St., bridge busts loose and runs into the jam already forming at the CN Bridge we will have a major problem./ It will be at that point in time when we will see if the Amphy can break the jam loose to avoid flooding. I suspect not.

Posted by: owl on January 29 2008 11:14 AM

There was most certainly water running before the Amphibex started work. However, the jam had probably done two things

1. constricted the water flow

2. created mini-dams/weirs to create a stepped system over which and through which the water was flowing

As a result, whenever something moved, it could restrict a portion and lead to a rise in water level upriver of that point. That did not happen only in one place, but multiple places as one goes up river.

Whenever the machine cleared a path ot the Fraser, I would presume that the water level in those location dropped to almost match the Fraser other than the normal drop.

We have never received reports of water levels at various locations once the machine started operating, at least not that I am aware of. Is anyone downriver of where the machine has opened up a channel still getting seepage or surface flooding?

All I hear about is upriver from where the machine is working.

So, unless I am not accurate in what I am writing, the machine has done more than merely opening up a channle that was already there. It has removed constrictions in that channel.

Posted by: red2b on January 29 2008 11:23 AM

"Lets keep things in perspective. The Amphibex merely widened a channel in the river that water was already flowing through, and as a result the ice broken off the edges etc; drifted down to jam at the CN Bridge. This was 100% predictable"

If this is the case than explain why the river level dropped 4ft at the Canfor pumphose just east of the Cameron Street bridge.

Ice jams will cause ice dams in shallow water. It is quite simple- more water will flow through a wide channel than in a narrow constricted channel.

Posted by: pulpworker on January 29 2008 11:23 AM

Let's look at the truth. On the 25th watched amphibex struggling downstream from Cottonwood park, catching a glimpse of the hoe poking up from the mountains of ice lodged in the river. Three hours of digging later the amphibex was at the pumphouse, had cleared a large free flowing channel, and the river level had dropped 4-6'. This is not my opinion, this is a fact, and part of my job involves monitoring the river levels.
Calling in the amphibex 40 or so days ago may have kept us out of the "jam" we're in now. ---

Posted by: heidi1555 on January 29 2008 11:52 AM

All we can hope for now is not to wait for the 14 months of city planning and buy an Amphibex A.S.A.P so we have it here in our city ready to pounce on the first sign of a jam next winter. Use this amazing machine until the city figures out how to solve the river problem long term.
Can you imagine what the Amphibex design could look like in 5-10 years? Maybe have two shovels or a catapult throwing the ice above the river banks.

:)

Posted by: Death to Socialism on January 29 2008 12:48 PM

Looks like they're pulling the pin on your cute little floating hoe. Everyone shed a tear & wait for the only viable solution - spring.

Posted by: diplomat on January 29 2008 1:23 PM

"Three hours of digging later the amphibex was at the pumphouse, had cleared a large free flowing channel, and the river level had dropped 4-6'. This is not my opinion, this is a fact, and part of my job involves monitoring the river levels."

There is your answer, Pal! As a matter of fact it did say the same thing elsewhere on this site.

I wouldn't pull the pin on the Amphibex - I would offer to BUY it and keep it here!

Posted by: Palopu on January 29 2008 3:58 PM

Thats no answer at all. The river dropped 4-6 ft on several occasions previouly, and the ice moved forward and compressed. Whether this last drop was because of the Amphy or some other cause is unclear, in any event the end result was ice jamming at the CN Bridge (caused by the Amphy) and we still have 13 Kilometres of ice west of the Cameron St. Bridge, with water rising in some places

Posted by: red2b on January 29 2008 6:05 PM

"Thats no answer at all"
I guess to some, seeing is not believing. Incredible.

Posted by: Palopu on January 29 2008 8:18 PM

red2b. I saw a drop in the water since this problem started on a least 3 occasions, and I suspect we will see a lot more before this is over.

How you people can move a bunch of ice from the toe of the Nechako to the confluence of the Fraser and the CN Bridge where it is now jammed and call this a success is beyond belief.

Why do you think the City got rid of this machine. If it was doing such a great job why wouldnt they put it back in the Fraser to release the jam it helped create.

With the Fraser frozen and jammed this ice has no place to go. As long as the water runs under the ice everthing will be ok, however if it jams then we are in serious trouble.

Bottom Line. **The little Engine that could** **Couldn't**

Posted by: red2b on January 29 2008 9:18 PM

"Lets keep things in perspective. The Amphibex merely widened a channel in the river that water was already flowing through, and as a result the ice broken off the edges etc; drifted down to jam at the CN Bridge. This was 100% predictable"

So what was it? A 'natural occurance' or the amphidex. What caused the ice to move?

Whats your solution? Sit and do nothing and blame the city for not doing anything?

Posted by: pulpworker on January 30 2008 10:58 AM

I could bring up a trend graph showing the history of the river level to show the profound effect the amphibex had on river levels versus other variations during the past two months, but I'd probably be wasting my time as some individuals just don't get it!