Abbotsford – “If it keeps on rainin’, the levee’s gonna break” – Led Zeppelin
Time and rain are not helping the situation for Abbotsford.
In his Thursday afternoon address on the City’s YouTube Channel, Mayor Henry Braun said the military is expected to start building a levee on Sumas Prairie to plus two major gaps in the dyke system
That silt filled water remains a thr3eat to life limb and property.
This project will stretch 2.5 kilometres and be constructed along the freeway (Highway 1) on the northwest side of Sumas Prairie near Number 4 Road.
The Barrowtown Pump Station is not keeping up.
By dawn on Friday, some 120 members of the Canadian military, with engineering experience, will start the project.
Time is not on their side as another rain event, 80 to 100 millimetres, is expected by Tuesday.
100 years ago, the prairie was known as Sumas Lake, some 10 feet deep.
The red line below is the levee. The Yellow with red dots shows the dyke breach. This is the size of Burnaby.
From Councilor Dave Loewen:
The two breaches in the dike are allowing water, coming from the south (Nooksack River), to fill the area formerly occupied by the historic Sumas Lake. Breach B is about 150 m. in length.Using the existing roadway as a base, a levee will be constructed; a length of about 1.5 km. This will keep the waters from continuing to flood the historic lake bottom area, and force it all to flow towards the pump station at Barrowtown. This action will come at the cost of those properties lying between the levee and the dike (north side of highway). Time is of the essence, with heavier rainfall forecast for next Tuesday/Wednesday.
