With highs of 10C in the forecast for Williams Lake Tuesday, Nov. 17, flooding in low lying areas is possible as a total of 12.5 mm of precipitation, mostly snow, fell overnight on an area that is already historically saturated.
Read more: High streamflow advisory issued for Cariboo region
The BC River Forecast Centre issued a high stream flow advisory on Friday, Nov. 13 that remains in place for the Cariboo region including tributary rivers around Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Quesnel and surrounding areas.
Precipitation combined with the relatively high flows and likelihood of low elevation snow melting, could lead to another significant flood event over the region beginning on Tuesday and continuing to the end of next week, the advisory noted.
Discharge water levels on Tuesday, Nov. 17, indicate the San Jose River above Borland Creek is flowing at a five to 10 year return,
Levels of Williams Lake also remain higher than seasonally normal.
City coun. Scott Nelson lives on a lakefront property and said the lake is three to four feet higher than it normally is at this time of year.
“The lake is very, very high,” Nelson said. “There is massive runoff into it and we are going to have some significant challenges going into next year.”
City chief administrative officer Gary Muraca said the water in the river valley has been high again and some roads were washed out Monday, Nov. 16 that require emergency repairs.
“The good news is the repaired roads we have done from the spring flooding were not impacted, but it exposed areas that are weak,” Muraca said.
Enviroment Canada’s forecast shows the low for Tuesday, Nov. 17 is -1C at night with 30 per cent chance of flurries.
For Wednesday the high is 2C, with low of -6C and a 60 per cent chance of flurries.
The public is advised to stay clear of the fast-flowing rivers and potentially unstable riverbanks during the high-stream flow period.
Read more: More than 110 properties impacted by fall flooding in Central Cariboo
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