The 10 Avenue underpass flooded after the flash flood on July 23.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
August 15, 2014 - 5:11 PM
KAMLOOPS – Numbers are still being crunched as city officials and consultants prepare a damage report to seek a provincial government grant to help pay for repairs. The deadline to submit the report is October.
“We have to take our time in order to get the proper funding,” Manager with the city Mike Firlotte says.
Firlotte says the province has specific criteria for funding and reports have to be dillegent in order to qualify for up to 80 per cent coverage on the flood damage repair bill.
Consultants are currently travelling around town to different areas with infrastructure damage. On Wednesday City officials were in Peterson Creek Park assessing trail damage and flooding which re-routed the creek behind the Glenfair residential area.
While the city makes assessments, more rainfall is adding to some of the present damages. But Firlotte says putting funds toward temporarily fixing the problem won’t be worth it.
“We have to make sure that what we put down there will last. We can easily just put some gravel down and make it look good, but you know, one more big rain event and that money’s wasted,” Firlotte says.
Since the flood from July 23, the City’s public works department has received a few more calls from residents concerned about additional rain damage.
“People are a little more on edge now because of that initial big storm. But really, (water damage) is what we deal with year in and year out,”
An additional worry for the public has been the 10 Avenue underpass and its tendency to flood near Lorne Street.
“We know it’s an issue and it’s something we’ll continue to look at,” says Firlotte.
The total infrastructure damage in the City is estimated at $3 million.
To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infotelnews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014