With the both the North and South Thompson River set to peak this weekend, the City of Kamloops says water levels will remain relatively high through the Canada Day long weekend.

Utility Services Manager Greg Wightman says it is because of the snow that is still left to melt.

“The rivers will stay very high and as long as we can get through the next probably ten days here without any major rain event, we will see that eventual decline in the water levels,” he said.

“There has just been this possibility since the May long weekend of an extreme weather event that we’ve been so fortunate not to have.”

The forecast is currently calling for some rain on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Wightman says while the river has risen about a foot and spilled into the Sandman Centre parking lot since his last update on June 21, it was not unexpected.

“The forecasts were projecting us to get up to around a 1999 mark, which is about a metre shy of where we are right now,” he said. “We have seen the river rise about a foot overnight here and with an expected peak sometime around tomorrow morning.”

“It’s not going to be a peak followed by a drastic decline at this point because there’s so much snow still to melt. It’s going to keep the rivers very high. But we are going to see a bit of a peak and a gradual decline during the heat spell that we’re gonna have here.”

That said, Wightman said he is not “relieved” yet.

“We certainly avoided a drastic-looking event here and we’ve got a much more favourable forecast as we head into the weekend,” he said. “Next week is still a concern, though. Tuesday, Wednesday if there is the rain that they’re calling for, we are going to see a spike that could get back up to that 1999 level.”

“We’re not out of that possibility by any means, but certainly throughout this weekend and heading into the warmer weather, we’re in better shape.”

For now, he says the city is concerned about residents who may be eager to get on the water given the long-awaited increase in temperatures.

“Just stay away from the water,” Wightman said, noting high water makes it impossible to rescue people from the river. “It’s extremely high, very fast right now. It’s not safe to be around the rivers.”

Some more pictures of the water in the Sandman Centre parking lot. @RadioNLNews #Kamloops #BCFlood pic.twitter.com/jMz5fE80kJ

— Victor Mario Kaisar (@supermario_47) June 24, 2022

Please note that due to high river levels, the West Sandman Centre parking lot will be closed until further notice. #Kamloops pic.twitter.com/4Nnre3G5Sj

— City of Kamloops (@cityofkamloops) June 24, 2022