The provincial and federal government have announced a series of projects to better understand the potential for damage to property and infrastructure when major northwest rivers flood.
The Nisga’a Lisims Government received $680,449 for flood mapping for three of the four main villages along the Nass River in the Nass Valley — Gitwinksihlkw/Canyon City, Laxg̱alts’ap/Greenville, and Ging̱olx/Kincolith).
Included in the flood assessments were Nass Bay and the 16 kilometres of the road connecting Laxgalts’ap to Gingolx which is at the mouth of the Nass River.
It was not unusual for the Nass River in the past to have risen and flooded portions of the road network in the valley.
In Stewart, $85,000 was spent to help with a plan to protect property and infrastructure within the community’s boundaries.
The District of Stewart has a diversion dike west of the a bridge leading into the community but it is not high enough to guard against flooding.
“The [Bear River] bank has undergone erosion during high-flow events and is continuing to erode, putting the water-treatment plant at risk of damage,” read a provincial assessment of flood planning.
Meanwhile, the Bulkley and Skeena rivers are to be the subject of their own flood-hazard mapping projects as part of nearly $9 million spending commitment from the federal and provincial governments.
The area to be covered runs from Houston to downstream of Terrace.
“Flood-plain mapping provides a detailed understanding of potential flooding, informing a variety of projects that can help reduce the impacts of flooding, as well as supporting local decisions by First Nations and local governments to establish appropriate zoning and flood construction levels,” provincial background material indicates.