More than an additional 1,000 Princeton properties are on evacuation alert as of mid-afternoon Wednesday Nov. 17.
All of the homes below the town’s benches are now on either evacuation order or alert.
The new alert was activated because of mounting problems with the town’s sewer system, following extensive flooding earlier in the week.
“We could have a loss of our sewer system if things don’t change,” Mayor Spencer Coyne told the Spotlight.
“The amount of effluent going through the system right now has all three pumps running at full capacity…There is a real risk right now of the entire system burning out.”
Coyne said silt and dirt has infiltrated the aging infrastructure, creating the problem.
“We are doing everything we can. I know we say that a lot, but we have all hands on deck. We have engineers from out-of-town here helping us. We are throwing everything we can at this problem.”
If the system collapses, sewage will back up into homes.
The town is also without drinkable water and natural gas, leaving a majority of homes without heat.
There remains 290 properties under evacuation order.
Follow the Spotlight for updates.
Related: BREAKING: B.C. declares state of emergency amid devastating floods, landslides
Related: Princeton struggles through flood clean up without heat and water
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:andrea.demeer@similkameenspotlight.com
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