Municipalities along the major riverways affected by flooding last year held public information meetings with residents on current conditions as spring-breakup season approaches.
The Town of Hay River hosted a public information meeting at the community hall of the Hay River Community Centre for about 20 people on April 20.
Town SAO Glenn Smith, Director of Protective Services Travis Wright, and Coun. Robert Bouchard gave an overview of what the town knows so far with the ice break up season expected to take place sometime between the last week of April and the second week of May.
The newest developments include results from snow surveys recently provided by the GNWT Department of Environment and Natural Resources, ice-thickness measurements conducted by the town and water levels in nearby lakes and rivers.
All measures indicate excessive water in Hay RiverSA国际影视传媒檚 water basin.
SA国际影视传媒淥ur snow load for our water basin is anywhere from 108 per cent normal to 140 per cent normal,SA国际影视传媒� Wright said. SA国际影视传媒淏y comparison to last year [where] we had 120 per cent normal.
SA国际影视传媒淲e are in the same range and it depends on the range in the basin but thereSA国际影视传媒檚 some with more and some that have less.SA国际影视传媒�
Town officials said the water level of the Chinchagua River - the main tributary that feeds into Hay River from Northern Alberta - is a metre below normal this year when it had been higher than that last year.
As daytime temperatures warm up this week above O C, however, water levels are expected to rise higher as higher than normal snow levels melt.
SA国际影视传媒淥ne thing that has gone down is the Great Slave Lake (water level) but itSA国际影视传媒檚 still high,SA国际影视传媒� Wright said.
SA国际影视传媒淲hat all of that means is that we have similar conditions to last year where we should be expecting to see a large amount of water come down through the Hay River.SA国际影视传媒�
Ice measurement thickness, which involves drilling 40 bore-holes within municipal boundaries, appeared SA国际影视传媒渃lose to average thickness and a little bit above average but very similar to last year.SA国际影视传媒�
TerritorySA国际影视传媒檚 on-the ground snow surveys
Every year the territorial government conducts on-the-ground snow surveys across the territory between mid-March and early April to measure snow water equivalent (SWE), the amount of water obtained from a given area if all snow is melted.
Jessica Davey-Quantick, a spokesperson with ENR said in a recent email to the Hub that SWE is only one of several factors that determine spring water levels.
SA国际影视传媒淭he potential and severity of flooding will depend in large part on the weather over the upcoming weeks and how this interacts with existing ice conditions, water levels and snow pack amounts,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
Other factors contributing to spring flood season include ice jams, the rate of melt of ice and snow, gradual versus quick melts, rain on snow or ice events, how wet the ground was in the fall and snow pack.
The municipalitySA国际影视传媒檚 completes annual ice measurements every year and water levels in the South Slave and Northern Alberta are taken into consideration.
Data collected from these various sources help the municipality understand what spring breakup conditions may be like and can be used to create future modelling.
Historical precedent
Part of the presentation also included some reference to past flooding seasons, especially last year when there were higher than usual water levels.
Smith noted that most of the flow last year pushed through the West Channel and damage was very minor to areas around the municipality, including residential properties.
SA国际影视传媒淭here was $150,000 worth of damages last year to town infrastructure,SA国际影视传媒� Smith reported. SA国际影视传媒淲e did take advantage of the GNWTSA国际影视传媒檚 Disaster Assistance policy and received $100,000 back.SA国际影视传媒�
A full evacuation order in the most flood risk areas of town - Vale Island and the West Channel - would impact about 400 people that live in those neighbourhoods.
The Town is set to hold another information session at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 26 at the fire hall.
