Riverside Park ~ MacArthur Park ~ Kamloops, BC ~ Flooding 2017

Flooding is not new to Kamloops but the threat of it still creates fear of the possibility of it happening again.  The fact there are two rivers meeting at Kamloops only doubles the chances.

Riverside Park in Kamloops

This winter there was a lot of snow up in those mountains, then we got some cool days with quite a bit of rain, and then the hot weather speeds up the melting.  Mix all of that together and we have a flood threat in Kamloops.

High water at Thompson River wharf

The parks are feeling the high water level, although that hasn’t stopped people from visiting the parks.  The wharf at Riverside Park is at water level, when it is usually several metres above that.  The railings have been removed to discourage any visitors onto that so barely visible.

Forbidden waters

Normally there is a very large sandy beach between the sidewalk shown and the river’s edge.  This shows the water to be about as high as we’d like to see it come up.  At this point, the damage appears to be extremely minimal.

Playtime

There are white bags sitting on water grates all over the city that will hopefully prevent any water coming up through those grates from the storm drains.   Water in this parking lot at the east end of Riverside Park is fairly shallow so many are enjoying the walk through the water.

River height history

This monument shows the water heights throughout history but also the height of the water for the floods we’ve been through.  The one that we personally lived through was in 1972, 3 weeks after we’d moved into our new home.  More info on this from a previous blog I had written here.  

Under the railway bridge

Typically one would be able to follow the path under the bridge that would then take you to Pioneer Park, which is mainly covered in water on this day.

Kids playing in the water

At this point, the railway bridge is not in any danger from the rising waters.  Many people were at the park enjoying this sunny Sunday with their families, many of which were playing in the water, and it was not only the young that were playing.

MacArthur Park boat launch

The boat launch at MacArthur Park has been closed due to the high waters, although the next photo shows a small boat tied to the small wharf, which is usually many feet lower than it is now.  Signs do not always work but at least this boat is not out on the river, which would be quite dangerous to maneuver.

At this point in time, the North Thompson River has been said to have crested, meaning there is no longer a danger of flooding.  The South Thompson River has not crested yet, but had dropped several inches since these photos were taken.  The threat of flooding has lessened and hopefully will allow Kamloops to get past this point, once again, without any damage done by flooding.