Flood Watch B.C.: Concerns ease over Nelson retaining wall; drinking water, swimming advisory in Shuswap; dams spill …

As many as 100 flood-weary residents of Sicamous, B.C., are on alert once again as the Shuswap region town braces for another emergency.

Officials are taking no chances after levels of Sicamous Creek suddenly dropped this morning, suggesting it may be blocked by trees in the hills above the neighbourhood of Two Mile.

Thats the same area inundated by flash-flooding when a torrent of debris was unleashed June 23, causing extensive damage to homes in Two Mile and nearby Swansea Point.

Highway 97A, about four kilometres south of Sicamous, has been closed about 350 kilometres northeast of Vancouver because of potential flooding.

RCMP Sgt. Carl Vinat says the highway closure and door-to-door warning in Two Mile are precautionary while an aerial inspection of Sicamous Creek is conducted.

Meanwhile, officials in southeastern B.C. say improving weather is speeding progress as crews work to drain an old tailings pond near the communities of Nelson and Salmo after the earthen dam around the pond began to crumble following recent heavy rains.

Meanwhile in Prince George, the provincial government will pick up most of the tab for flood costs racked up when the Fraser and Nechako rivers began rising last month.

City officials say 100 per cent of preparation and response costs can be recovered through Emergency Management BC.

To date, the city has spent just over a quarter of a million dollars, but crews are still waiting to assess damage to a trail system and piping along the Nechako, because that area is still under water.

Once those costs are added up, Prince George expects to recover 80 per cent of the repair bills.

See more here:
Flood Watch B.C.: Concerns ease over Nelson retaining wall; drinking water, swimming advisory in Shuswap; dams spill ...