Cooling temperatures and falling water levels in area streams on Tuesday (May 14) prompted B.C. River Forecast Centre officials to lift a high streamflow advisory for the Squamish River and its tributaries.
Officials at the centre had issued the advisory on Sunday (May 12) after rapid snowmelt during the previous week had caused river levels to rise, stoking fears of localized flooding. Heavy rainfall overnight on Saturday (May 11) contributed to the rise in river levels, officials said. High-streamflow advisories and/or flood watches were also issued for the Birkenhead and Lillooet rivers in the Pemberton area.
On Tuesday, though, officials wrote, "Temperatures have cooled significantly since yesterday [May 13], leading to diminished snowmelt rates some rivers saw a modest rise yesterday and overnight, but river levels throughout the rest of the region are now dropping" and are expected to continue their decline.
Mayor Rob Kirkham on Monday said fall, not spring, is the time Squamish normally experiences its most serious flooding. While officials were monitoring the river levels, no serious flooding was expected, he said.
"There was some pretty heavy rainfall over the weekend, but while rivers are fairly high, there is plenty of room below the dikes that we have," Kirkham said. "I would just caution people to stay away from the river, which is flowing fairly swiftly."
When flooding does occur it's most often felt first in the Upper Squamish and Paradise valleys, Kirkham said.
"If there was a concern for flooding, they [emergency officials] would go door to door and give out a warning. This information I'm getting is it doesn't look like we're going to get that," he said.
