Squamish is not facing the same immediate flood concerns as other areas in the province, including Prince George and the Fraser Valley, but residents are cautioned to remain conscious of the potential hazard.
"It's something we should be worried about every day of our lives," said Jim Lang, director of the Squamish Emergency Program of the potential for flooding in Squamish. "We should always be prepared."
Despite reports to the contrary on Wednesday by Vancouver media, the District of Squamish is not under existing flood warnings.According to Lang the water levels along the Cheakamus River in Squamish were approaching dangerously high levels on Monday (June 4) evening.
However, they have since dropped significantly. Lang noted that although water levels have decreased Squamish has minimal amount of warning when flooding does occur.
"Unlike areas like the Fraser Valley we don't get a lot of warning when it comes to flooding," said Lang.
Warmer than expected temperatures last week dramatically increased the flow of water in the Daisy Lake Dam Reservoir, leading hydro officials to increase the amount of water they released in the Squamish River.
"Right now we are expelling 213 cubic metres of water per second," said Elisha Moreno, spokesperson for B.C. Hydro. "To put that into perspective on May 25 we were at 25 cubic metres per second. We had a gradual ramp up to the current level."
However, the expulsion of water should not impact the banks of the river in Squamish. According to Moreno the monitor on the Squamish River in Brackendale is currently registering a flow of 285 cubic metres per second.
The maximum flow for that area is 450 cubic metres per second.
The Daisy Lake Dam is expected to ramp down the outflow of water this week.
However, residents in the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) further up the Sea to Sky Corridor are facing serious flood conditions. SLRD has issued local state of emergency for residents along the Birkenhead River between Mount Currie and D'Arcy. By press time, 98 residences in the region had been evacuated due to significant erosion along the bank caused by rising water levels and heavy rainfall over the weekend.
