Municipal Hall

June 29, 2012 / 3:00 PM

The BC River Forecast Centre is maintaining a High Streamflow Advisory for the Lower Fraser River. Here are the key points of the advisory released at 2:30 pm on Thursday, June 28, 2012:

• The Fraser River at Hope (08MF005) is flowing at approximately 11,200 cubic metres per second (m3/s), and is near peak levels. The Fraser River at Mission is currently at 6.15 metres and is rising.
• Heavy rainfall and rapid snowmelt occurred over this past weekend, particularly in the Thompson River Basin (a major tributary to the Lower Fraser River) and to a lesser extent in the Upper Fraser River Basin. Typically it takes six days for water from rain and snowmelt in these headwaters to travel down to the Lower Fraser Valley. Due to heavier rain across the Fraser River tributaries, another pulse of water is has travelled downstream and is working its way through the Lower Fraser River. River levels are rising, and are expected to reach their peak levels over the late Thursday to Friday period at Hope, and the Friday to Saturday period around Mission and downstream. Current forecasts are estimating the flows to be in the range of 11,200‐11,600 m3/s at Hope, and a height of approximately 6.30‐6.40 metres at the Mission gauge. This is slightly below levels that were observed last weekend.
• Once the pulse of water has passed, levels are expected to recede towards the end of the weekend, and into next week. Unless additional severe weather (extreme heat or heavy rainfall in the Upper Fraser Basin) occurs, river levels are expected to drop through the remainder of the freshet season.

For daily updates of five‐day forecasts of water levels and timing of daily peak levels for various locations down the Lower Fraser River, see the River Forecast Centre website. 

The River Forecast Centre will continue to monitor conditions and will provide updates as conditions warrant.

MAPLE RIDGE OVERALL

The BC River Forecast Centre is projecting that the peak levels for this pulse of water will occur on Saturday. Water levels will remain high for a few days, with a more substantial drop occurring after the long weekend. Local rainfall amounts may have an impact in some areas.

The District of Maple Ridge remains activated at Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Level 1 and is closely monitoring conditions along the river, localized weather impacts and has moved to daily dyke inspections to check for any erosion or seepage. The EOC will be on standby throughout the weekend to deal with any change in the situation.

The latest information from the BC River Forecast Centre and Environment Canada can be found on our website, through the 'Flood Watch on the Fraser' link. This notice will be the last daily alert, however, all of the links will remain active.

The 24 hour Operations Centre telephone line will be monitored and calls will be routed to appropriate staff members who are on-call. The Operations Centre telephone number is 604-463-9581.

WHARF STREET

As of noon, Friday, June 29, 2012, the 'Evacuation Alert' for the 43 properties along the unprotected section of Wharf Street has been lifted. Today, members of the RCMP and Maple Ridge Fire Department delivered notices to area residents in the early afternoon.

District staff will continue to monitor water levels and respond to enquiries from residents in this area. Once again, we ask that people who do not live in this area avoid the area and respect the privacy of the residents.

KANAKA STREET (just north of the Lougheed Highway)

The Kanaka Creek Estuary still has large volumes of water. Local rainfall forecasts are for modest amounts of rain on the weekend. We will continue to monitor levels in this area. While the Fraser River is dropping, water levels may remain somewhat elevated in this specific area until the Fraser River drops as is forecast in the coming days.

224 STREET NORTH OF 136 AVENUE

The water has receded off 224 Street. District Operations staff will continue to monitor road conditions for any changes.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Dyke patrols have been stepped back to once daily.

The public space at the Haney Wharf remains open, however, the boat mooring ramp remains closed due to the high river levels and fast flowing water. Inspections of the wharf are being conducted daily. Water levels on the Fraser River and tributaries remain very high and water flows are fast. The District strongly recommends that the public exercise extreme caution when in the vicinity of the river. We also recommend that people stay off the Fraser River for recreation purposes until the water levels and flow rates subside. If you need to be on the river for work, please ensure that you are wearing appropriate safety equipment and use extreme caution.

The sandbagging depot at Albion Flats Landscaping Supply has resumed their normal business hours (Monday to Friday from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, Saturday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm and Sunday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm). The depot is located at 23549 Lougheed Highway, Maple Ridge, telephone: 604-477-1971. If conditions change, notification of extended hours will be provided as required.

For more information, please contact:

Fred Armstrong
Manager Corporate Communications
Tel: 604-467-7452
Email: farmstrong@mapleridge.ca