Your best protection this year if you need to sandbag your property from potential flooding might be to have a family of five.

City of Kamloops utility services manager Greg Wightman says people often use neighbours and friends to help fill and lay sandbags but he says that won’t be an option this year.

“So in the past, we’ve put out sand, we’ve put out piles of sandbags, we’ve put shovels out for the public. We’re putting a lot of messaging out as we start to deliver that sand and sandbags, reminding people to maintain that physical distancing. We’re putting out media releases, we’re putting things on our website saying bring your own shovel.”

He says that same rule will apply for city crews protecting shorelines.

“In the past we’ve really been supportive of the use of that Tiger dam. That’s something that we thought was a great option for Riverside Park because it was quick to deploy, easy to take down. It’s just not going to be an option for us this year, it’s too difficult to install with the COVID-19 restrictions. We’ll be using Hesko baskets if we do have to take any action in Riverside Park.”

Wightman says all of the simple tasks for flood protection will be more challenging and take longer, if they are in fact needed.

(Photo: City of Kamloops)