After part of the road and picnic area was washed away during flooding last year, the District is seeking to stabilize the banks of Flatbed Creek at the Lions Campground.
According to Director of Operations and Infrastructure Doug Beale, the Lions Flatbed Creek represents an important asset for the District of Tumbler Ridge. “The Heavy rain events in June and July 2020 resulted in high flow rates and erosion along the bank of the Flatbed Creek affecting the adjacent campground,” says Beale in a report to Council. “The District has been proactive in applying for a grant with Emergency Management BC (EMBC) to repair the damage caused by this event, but the EMBC grant (if awarded) will not cover the costs of upgrades to prevent erosion events in the future.”
To cover the cost of upgrades, the District is applying for a Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) – Structural Flood Mitigation grant to fund erosion protection along the bank of Flatbed Creek.
This grant would cover up to $750,000 of upgrades, which would extend the riprap channel lining that currently protects the section of the bank from the bridge past the District Pump station.
This first section of riprap was installed in 2011 after the bank around the pump began to erode. At the time, the town pursued funding through the Towns for Tomorrow initiative. Since then, this section of the bank has not experienced any significant erosion.
On July 2 of this year, there was a major event that caused devastating damage to the park area. “The erosion affected the access road into areas of the park and created steep banks that are hazardous for public access to the creek,” he says. “This is land that the District has lost and will continue to lose if mitigation efforts are not undertaken as soon as possible. The erosion control for the pump has proven to be very effective and has survived with little to no damage throughout these events but further erosion of the bank could affect the back side of the pump. Stabilization and further protection will be required.”
He proposes that the riprap be extended the length of the park to protect the remaining bank.
The District has applied for $145,000 from Emergency Management BC, but this would only go towards repairing the damage and not stabilizing the bank.
While the repairs seem simple enough, any work along a waterway requires meeting strict Federal and Provincial guidelines for working beside a creek. “This permitting process could take anywhere from four to eight months and requires specific information and data to be included with the permit application,” says Beale. He advises that these permits be applied for sooner rather than later, as the District does not want to miss the 2021 construction window of late summer/early fall.
Beale says that over the last decade, flooding has been more frequent, and there are climate models that suggest this could get worse. “Considerable land has been washed away from the banks around the park and it is expected to continue,” he says. “The significant event of 2020 has affected our infrastructure on a permanent basis and the District had to relocate a portion of the park’s main access road.”
And, while there are no guarantees that armouring the bank will be 100 percent effecting, there has been no significant erosion around the pump house since the riprap was put in there in 2011. “If erosion continues on the non-armored bank, it could affect the pump for our main water supply that could have a detrimental outcome.”
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
