Three times in seven years is more than a little stressful.
Maria Otting and her family鈥檚 home in the 500 block of Salmon River Road flooded in early May 2017 and again at the same time in 2018, despite much sand bagging and pumping of water. They were left with a foot of water and sewage in their basement, requiring a rebuild of the whole first floor of their home 鈥� a six-month undertaking.
Alice and Gary Hucul next door underwent a similar experience.
Otting said the high water this year seemed to have peaked last Saturday, May 7, and a berm they put up in 2018 along their fence line is holding.
They鈥檝e also been pumping water continuously, using a four-inch hose to pump it back into the river.
Groundwater is really high this year, she said.
Otting pointed out their septic tanks will fill up with water, so they鈥檝e been using another pump to try to keep water away from the house. They鈥檝e also got a porta-potty, are taking very short showers and are not doing laundry in order to lower volume in the system.
With hot temperatures forecast for the weekend and still four or five feet of snow in the mountains, 鈥渨e鈥檙e not out of the woods; we鈥檒l still have a couple of weeks of really high water. It鈥檚 really stressful.鈥�
AIM Roads is out almost every day, she said, pulling out logs, keeping bridges clear so the river doesn鈥檛 jam up and flood. The water is so high all of the older bridges are being patrolled because it is hitting the bottoms of most of them.
AIM Roads asks that anyone who spots water running across any roadway to call their 24/7 line at
Otting has noticed sediment in the Salmon River has been building up this year, so it鈥檚 taking less water to flood.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the problem for everyone who lives along the river.鈥�
The land where she planted her big market garden last year so she could open it to the community each weekend from June to October is still underwater, so she expects it might not be dry enough to plant until mid-June.
She said she expects a lot of people are in the same situation. So far, she hasn鈥檛 heard of anyone in Silver Creek whose house has flooded.
Asked about her view on climate change, she said she鈥檚 been an environmentalist all her life, always thinking of effects on the planet, but there鈥檚 a limit to what an individual can do.
Otting noted that the river makes its own course and changes every year, so she and her neighbours are at the mercy of the weather. She said government policies to protect the river and fish mean the river can鈥檛 be touched.
Otting emphasizes she is really questioning what to do, as the flooding situation, especially three times in seven years, is so stressful.
鈥淲e built up the driveway about three feet鈥� We feel like honestly we鈥檝e done everything we can do.鈥�
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