Kimberley City Council has voted to establish a select committee for Morrison Subdivision in order to further help with flood mitigation efforts.
Seasonal flooding occurs in Morrison Sub during high intensity precipitation events due to an undersized storm water collection system downstream of Pearson Road. The seasonal flooding has negative effects on residents and the one in ten year event floods into downtown Kimberley. The effects are being magnified by climate change and weather patterns of increasing variation and intensity.
Since the last event flood in 2012, the City has installed a 12’ culvert under Pearson Road, raised the height of Pearson Road, increased the height of the sewer lift station, commissioned an engineering report, enacted a flood bylaw, established flood construction levels for new construction and advocated to reduce logging activities in the Kimberley Creek watershed.
The next step is to create an exposed channel, a wetland ponding area and right-sized stormwater pipes to accommodate peak flows on Kimberley and Lois Creeks, to mitigate flooding in residential and commercial areas by reducing water backup and enhancing water drainage.
This past May, the City submitted to the Gas Tax Strategic Priorities Fund for downtown infrastructure redevelopment, including $1,012,000 for constructing Kimberley Creek Daylight and $375,000 for increasing stormwater capacity under Wallinger Avenue.
In August, the City submitted an application to the National Disaster Mitigation Program for $150,000 to complete engineering design for Kimberley Creek Daylight, attenuation pond and storm water-right sizing.
Last month, the City announced that they are applying for grant funding from the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CDPF) for $50,000 for engineering and design of Kimberley Creek daylighting and storm water right-sizing.
The City is also working with Mainstreams, a Kimberley based society who educates and heightens awareness on water related issues and solutions throughout the Columbia Basin Watershed.
Mainstreams says that before the daylighting can happen Kimberley and Lois Creeks must first go through a watershed assessment, for which they have applied for separate grant funding.
Morrison Sub residents are also working hard to keep flooding at bay through several efforts including communication with the City, widening the creek channel, establishing native vegetation, installing flashboards and more.
With that, the Morrison Sub neighbourhood and the City are establishing the Morrison Sub Flood Mitigation Select Committee in order to keep lines of communication open with regards to these efforts. The committee includes members of Council, residents of Morrison Sub and the Meadowbrook Waterworks District, who will meet on a regular basis.