Although there is no emergency risk in Merritt at the moment, the City is closely watching the atmospheric river that’s expected to hit BC’s South and Central Coast this weekend.

Greg Lowis, Director of Corporate Services with the City of Merritt says they’re working with the province and the BC River Forecast Center to monitor any flood risk headed towards Merritt.

“We’re not under any kind of a warning at this point. We do know that the information the province is sending out at this point, they’ve got us listed in the area that could potentially be affected later in the week,” he said.

“But until we have a better idea of where the storms actually going to be coming in, then we won’t know for sure which side of the mountain range that’s projected to come in.”

Lowis says the safety of Merritt residents is top priority, noting that they are making contingency plans in the event of an emergency.

“We’ve got steps in place so that if it looks like the water levels will be rising to levels that could cause us concerns, we’ll be protecting our vital infrastructure that people depend on.”

He says this will include taking steps to protect the sewer and drinking water systems to ensure they are not impacted like they were during last November’s floods.

However, Lowis says they will not be making any changes to the dyking system until or unless they can confirm an emergency is headed toward Merritt.

“We know from last year that the temporary dykes held up against the second and the third atmospheric rivers, so we are optimistic and they are undergoing inspections and checks.”

Lowis explains that any other changes to the dyking system would be contingent on observed changes to the weather.

“The province has a whole load of rules and regulations about what you can do with dyking, rivers, and anything that affects river flow. So, if we end up in a situation where river levels are rising and we know there will be more water coming through Merritt; we will then take the steps necessary to maintain the safety of everyone who lives here and the municipal infrastructure they depend on.”

As for private properties, Lowis says they have established a sandbagging station at a public works yard.

“That’s in the parking lot and that’s available for any member of the public to come along and use if they want to take preemptive steps to defend their property and make preparations.”