While the fate of the Noble Creek Irrigation System is still unclear, B.C.’s Forests Minister says riprap that was installed earlier this year to protect the intake during the spring freshet can remain.
“The province has committed to place the riprap in the way that’s been discussed with the City of Kamloops, so I think that issue is resolved,” Bruce Ralston said during a Thursday afternoon provincial drought and wildfire update.
Ralston’s comments come two days after Greg Wightman, the City of Kamloops’ Utility Services Manager said the rip rap had to be removed as it was put in place under a state of local emergency declaration.
Wightman told Council the rip rap was protecting a 10-to-12-metre stretch between the North Thompson riverbank and the Noble Creek pump house, and that without it the system intake would once again be at major risk of failure during the 2024 freshet.
Ongoing erosion concerns led to a closed meeting of city council on May 30, where they voted to decommission the system in September.
“The challenge is those emergency works may need to be removed,” Wightman told Radio NL at the time. “Any time you do that, you have to reassess it after the threat has subsided. We don’t know the longevity of the work that we did, if its going to be able to remain.”
Just last year, the City of Kamloops approved $3 million in much needed upgrades to try and keep the Noble Creek Irrigation System operational until 2028.
“But the erosion has just accelerated so quickly out there that we can’t protect that intake anymore,” added Wightman in May. “We’re unlikely to be able to operate it much longer, so the new direction from council now is to decommission it at the end of this irrigation season.”
That decision to decommission – and the subsequent concerns about water access after the system was shut down earlier this month due to low water levels – came to a head during Tuesday’s Council meeting when a number of Westsyde property owners called on city council and staff to save the irrigation system.
“We’re right here. We’re your community. We are your community as a whole and we provide benefits to the community, so you guys needed to come and talk to us before making these decisions,” Adam Woodward, a member of the newly-formed Noble Creek Irrigation Society, told council.
Woodward also said users had no time to come up with plans to irrigate their lands next year or to navigate water licensing and ministry approvals that would be needed if the system was to be decommissioned.
“It requires a lot more time and that’s what we’re here today to do is to ask for more time,” Woodward added.
Just last week, Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson confirmed he had been in contact with Emergency Management Minister, Bowinn Ma, about extending the use of the rip rap to try and keep the system operating.
“I just think there are a lot more solutions,” Hamer-Jackson said. “I’ve talked to a lot of the users and they have brought some professionals on that brought ideas about putting in a secondary pump for instance – like a pump to the intake if gets a little bit low.”
It is not clear how long the rip rap will be allowed to stay in place, or if there are plans for a more permanent fix at this time. Radio NL has reached out to the Ministry of Emergency Management for clarification.
But Wightman also said Tuesday that even if major fortification work was approved at the intake site, it was “unlikely” to meet provincial regulations.
“I need to make sure council understands even if we do get the approval to leave that riprap in there, the liability that the city will run through 2024 is immense and all that liability will be upon us,” Wightman said, noting the City was in a precarious and challenging position.
“If council were to direct us today to run this until 2024, I can’t guarantee that we’re going to be able to do that, so it won’t provide the assurance the customers are looking for.”
While the decommissioning of the irrigation system is still on track for the end of this year, Kamloops Council did direct Wightman and his staff to see if it can be operated through to the end of 2024.
They also directed staff to begin the process to transfer the City’s water license for the Noble Creek system to its 41 users, as well as to reach out to Minister Ralston notifying him about the situation and potential impacts of decommissioning the system.
It is not clear if the City has made contact with the Minster since Tuesday’s meeting but speaking Thursday, Ralston said other issues around the fate of the Noble Creek Irrigation System and its users are being worked on.
“There are issues that we are working though and people of goodwill will resolve them and I think we have two willing partners who will solve this issue,” Ralston said.
