Spring may be a few months away but Lumby is fearful of how the season’s thaw could impact the village.
Following the floods of last spring, the village has been trying to get the province and Regional District of North Okanagan on board with measures to prevent similar flooding in 2014.
“We’ll be standing in our gum boots talking about it soon,” said Mayor Kevin Acton.
The village is still waiting to hear back from the province on a meeting between the two governments and RDNO.
Due to approvals needed for any work within local watersheds and creeks, Lumby needs the province to sign off on any work with agreement from RDNO.
One flood prevention technique needed is a pre-release of the watershed, says Acton, who adds that there is the capacity to reduce reserves.
Creek dredging is also needed, following years of sediment settling in, he said.
“One of the farmers was saying the bottom of the creek is higher than his property.”
Clear cutting of pine beetle kill on the Aberdeen Plateau has also added to the runoff, causing floods.
“When it melts, it goes quickly,” he said, as there is no shade left for a gradual runoff.
Acton is all for following the rules, but wants to see some timely approvals to ensure the 2013 floods aren’t repeated.
“We had two major floods that put people out of their homes and we had (businesses) looking at closure.”
