There are many factors to consider as the District of Sicamous begins work on their plan to protect the district from high water in the Sicamous Narrows.
The public got their say in the matter at an open house on Thursday, March 14. The District of Sicamous and Kerr Wood Leidal, the engineering firm who is consulting on the flood mitigation project held the open house to get the public’s opinion on flood mitigation measures to be set up along the narrows.
According to information provided at the open house, a 2017 hydraulic capacity assessment found that the east bank of the Narrows is low-lying and flood impacts caused by high lake levels can be experienced even in less-than 10 year return period water levels.
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The information states that the severe flooding experienced in 2012 led to $1.12 million in damage to district property and infrastructure.
The public consultation is an early stage of a project which began in the fall of 2018. According to a plan outline provided by the district, conceptual designs for flood protection options will be created in the early summer. Once conceptual designs are available, a meeting involving all stakeholders to select a preferred design will be held in August.
A flood protection plan on how to implement the preferred design will be written in the fall.
To inform the development of the flood protection plan, a survey was circulated asking respondents to rank their level of concern with flood damage to private property along the waterfront, damage to district infrastructure, business disruption due to flooding and impacts on human safety, recreational use of the narrows and the environment.
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Survey respondents were also asked how important they think it is that a design be low profile. They were also asked about the possibility of a ‘green’ or naturalized design such as using plants to reinforce the bank and if they think it is important that the design be similar to existing waterfront infrastructure.
Opinions on community amenities such as murals, sculptures, interpretive signage and recreational amenities like a public walkway or exercise equipment were also gathered.
Jason Miller, an employee of Kerr Wood Leidal serving as project manager for the creation of the flood protection plan said residents he spoke to at the open house all had their own concerns which included, loss of view, the security of their properties and the effectiveness of flood protection measures.
The district and their consultant came to the open house with some examples of flood protection works which could serve as the basis of a system to prevent flooding in Sicamous. They ranged from an earthwork dike to walls made of a variety of materials and topped with walkways or clear portions to preserve waterfront properties’ views.
Miller said the flood protection works which were displayed on a piece of poster board at the open house are just examples but some may be considered as the project progresses. He said the space available along the channel would make an earthwork dike very difficult if not impossible to implement.
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