River levels continue to rise and very little beach is left at Riverside Park.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
May 20, 2014 - 1:37 PM
KAMLOOPS - By Friday the Thompson River rose enough to warrant concern about flowing debris and now the Rivers Trail is nearly impassable after a long weekend filled with rain.
The majority of rain fell north of the city, swelling the Thompson River from just under five metres at the end of last week to more than six metres as of Monday morning. The South Thompson River is up nearly 200 cubic metres per second in discharge over the past week. The North Thompson at McLure is also up significantly, it has more than doubled over the past week to nearly 1,700 cubic metres per second.
In Kamloops the Rivers Trail is underwater at the CN bridge underpass behind the Interior Savings Centre. The trail is often hit by rising waters and during budget discussions in March council agreed to put $50,000 towards upgrading that particular section of trail to avoid the nearly annual closures that have plagued Riverside Park.
Council was of mixed opinions when it came to the upgrades but ultimately agreed to the funds, though the project has not yet been tackled.
“Staff has prepared a maintenance upgrade plan,” Parks Director Byron McCorkell told council at the budget meeting, “We haven’t paid (Riverside Park) the love it needs…. Most complaints are about flooding.”
As of noon Monday the trail was not officially closed, though water did cover the entire width of the path under the bridge.
The Salmon River is looking like it may cause problems in Falkland and Salmon Arm as well. It currently sits at a one in 10 year flood level at Falkland while further north it lowers to a one in two year flood level. Chase Creek also sits at a one in two year flood level.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
Water under the bridge-the CN underpass along the Rivers Trail in Riverside Park is once again under water.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
News from © iNFOnews, 2014