Florence Seidel and George Schwartz are not pleased with the plan to run a creek through a ditch alongside their front yard.

Seidel has lived in the 1600 block of Salmon River Road for about 40 years; Schwartz, her spouse, is also a longtime resident of the area.

On Saturday, April 22, they were two of the residents evacuated from a total of 10 Silver Creek homes when water let loose on the mountainside above, creating a mudslide that moved trees and boulders. The new stream of water jumped into the creek that, until then, had trickled through their next-door-neighbours鈥� property, the Knights.

鈥淣ow we鈥檝e heard they鈥檝e merged the water from the mountains with this creek,鈥� said Seidel Thursday. 鈥淚f that happens, we鈥檒l have a humongous creek. It should never be that close鈥� in a neighbourhood.鈥�

The former creek, named Anderson Creek on some maps, they know as Andrew Brook. It has flowed under Salmon River Road through a culvert by their neighbours鈥� fence for many years. That culvert filled with mud during the flooding, so the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) rerouted the greatly enlarged creek in order to get Salmon River Road open.

鈥淚 still think the simplest thing would be to put it along the forest road and down Haines Creek and get it out of the neighbourhood,鈥� says Schwartz, who鈥檚 86. 鈥淚f I had a Cat, I鈥檇 do it, I鈥檝e built lots of roads. They need to check it 鈥� if they have too much of a grade they鈥檇 have to go higher.鈥�

Otherwise, he says, some kind of flume should be put in their neighbours鈥� yard so the water doesn鈥檛 seep everywhere.

Adds Seidel: 鈥淲hy run it along the road for a long length of space and then flood somebody鈥檚 field first before they鈥檙e going to get to the river?鈥�

Seidel and Schwartz now have, instead of a driveway, a piece of plywood going over the new ditch, just as three other families on Salmon River Road do. The ministry will not respond to questions from the media about its plans or its approach to the flooding; the ministry鈥檚 communications staff say they are not allowed to comment on anything until after the provincial election.

However, Darcy Mooney, emergency operations centre director with the Shuswap Emergency Program, said last week he was told by MOTI that putting in culverts at the ends of driveways is the responsibility of the homeowner.

Seidel thinks they鈥檙e passing the buck.

鈥淲e pay our taxes too. I don鈥檛 know if they think it鈥檚 okay to have a board thing over the ditch 鈥� I don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 up with them.鈥�

Tom and Narcisse Welsh own a farm in the 1700 block of Salmon River Road, downhill from the flooding. Since April 22, their alfalfa field has been the recipient of the water rerouted down the ditch.

The water crossed the road via an existing culvert but, instead of heading for the Salmon River, it pooled in their field and began radiating toward their son Daniel鈥檚 barnyard and has been threatening their son鈥檚 home.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e very lackadaisical about doing anything about it,鈥� remarked Narcisse of MOTI. 鈥淲e could have accepted this as a quick fix, but it鈥檚 gone on now for over a week.鈥�

The couple said they won鈥檛 know how much damage has been done until the water dries up.

To try to stop the runoff, Tom and his son excavated a ditch along their north boundary on Sunday that terminates in the river. That meant highways would need to install a new culvert under the road and direct the water to their ditch.

Welsh called the Observer back Monday after an initial conversation earlier in the morning. He was pleasantly surprised that MOTI crews had arrived with a new culvert in hand.

Similar to Schwartz鈥檚 idea, Welsh said he had suggested the creek be diverted down Sellenback Road, north of where water came down in the 1600 block.

鈥淚t鈥檚 downhill all the way to the river, but there鈥檚 an elevation difference there and they would have to go and divert the water uphill behind the Knight property. They apparently can鈥檛 do that because their jurisdiction is just concerning the right-of-way鈥� If they go off the right-of-way they have to get forestry involved.鈥�

Welsh said he was given a number to call the forest ministry, but no one got back to him. Then he decided it鈥檚 really not his problem; it鈥檚 MOTI who should be contacting them.

Welsh thinks the people with destroyed driveways deserve help.

鈥淚 asked them (MOTI) in return for us letting them get rid of the water through our property, they put culverts in for those people that they dug their driveway up. Whether anything will happen on that or not, who knows.鈥�