Flood threat eases
After a few uneasy weeks of rising river levels, it appears flood concerns are starting to dry up.
City officials said the Thompson River reached its highest level on Saturday, June 25, at 343.1 metres, but by Monday, June 27, the river had fallen 18 centimetres.
The river reached its fifth-highest level in the last 15 years.
Tom Marstaller, the city’s utilities-service manager, said he’s cautiously optimistic the flood threat is receding, but added he doesn’t want residents to lower their guard when it comes to dealing with the river.
“I wouldn’t want to make it sound like we’re completely out of the woods,” he said.
Instead, the city will continue to monitor the river levels and forecast in the coming days.
But, word the river level is receding will likely be greeted as good news by boat lovers.
The city has also spent the last couple of days re-evaluating the closure of boat launches and a decision on whether to reopen them will be made today.
Marstaller said the city will make the determination based on the upcoming forecast and data from the last few days.
The boat launch was closed on June 17.
Residents were also warned to stay out of the water.
According to the River Forecast Centre, the cool April and May led to a delay in the onset of snow melt by up to four weeks.
As a result, a significant amount of water was left to drain into the rivers.
The city posts on its website (kamloops.ca/riverlevels) river levels measured at Overlanders Bridge.
For more information, residents can also go online to the forecast centre website at bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca.
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