Once the risk of flooding in Cache Creek has subsided this year, the Deputy Mayor in the village says officials will be reaching out to various government ministries to try and find a permanent solution.

Wendy Coomber says repeated flooding year after year is damaging both Cache Creek as well as the nearby Bonaparte River.

“You know I think its finally hit home because last year was fine, but its finally hit home that the wildfires of 2017 have really damaged the watersheds to the point where we are going to be expecting this every year,” she said, on the NL Morning News.

Cache Creek has had to deal with flooding in four of the last six years, and some residents had to be evacuated for the second time in three months this year. At the last update, 12 properties were on evacuation order while another 160 were on evacuation alert.

Coomber notes its been an especially tough year in the village.

“Flooding season has lasted so dang long this year, and I think people are trying to stay calm, but its been a long year, with COVID and then the flooding,” she noted. “And I think the elastic is going to reach a breaking point pretty soon if things don’t change.”

While water levels have been going down this week, Coomber notes if things get worse people may need to be evacuated to Kamloops.

The BC River Forecast Centre has downgraded a flood warning on the Bonaparte River to a flood watch, noting that water on some rivers like the Bonaparte and South Thompson is expected to recede throughout the week, despite the potential for rain in the forecast.