Municipal workers have begun walling off the waterfront at the bottom of Horne Street using concrete barriers and sandbagging, should predictions that the Fraser River won’t flood prove false.
The district began at 9 a.m. on Thursday and were at it again Friday, creating a barrier stretching from the riprap east of the Interpretive centre and then 100 metres along the former site of the old Meeker Cedar building.
The river measured at 6.285 metres at the Mission gauge Friday by noon, and is predicted to peak at 6.38 metres by the weekend. The river has elevated by 0.425 metres since Wednesday.
The Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce sent out a press release urging all levels of government to stop hoping the one in 100-year flood won’t happen, and start taking action to protect communities, trade routes and agriculture along the shores of the Fraser.
“The Fraser is a complex system. While we have harnessed it we also abdicated our responsibility for its maintenance,” said chamber president Elyssa Lockhart.
“The myriad of Ministries both federal and provincial that maintain authority is astounding, but not one takes full responsibility for managing and maintaining the river. Who will take the responsibility of when it floods?.”
The chamber estimates the impact of the Fraser River flooding its banks to do $1 billion in damage to the agricultural crop.
