With water levels on the Thompson River going down, the city of Kamloops has reopened the Rivers Trail from Sandman Centre to Pioneer Park today.

Utility Services Manager Greg Wightman says the trail wasn’t damaged by the high water, but notes it had to be cleaned by city staff before it could be opened.

“A lot of sediment got up on that trail with the water that’s been sitting on it for probably a month and a half here. Definitely our crews had to get out and do a little bit of cleaning before we could open that trail back up, and just make sure it was safe and not slippery for people using it,” he said.

“At this point, the trail is good to use.”

Wightman adds its been a weird year with the river levels remaining high for a long time this year because of a high snowpack and then prolonged rain in Kamloops in June.

“As of three days ago we actually did see the waters recede from the Rivers Trail just two the east of Sandman Centre there, and because of that we’ve been able to open up that [section of] trail again,” he added.

Rivers Trail west of Sandman Centre will remain closed for the time being, and Wightman was asked when those flood protection measures might be taken down.

“If things continue to go the way we expect and the rivers do continue to drop, we’ll be looking at as early as potentially next week at removing the Hesko baskets from McArthur Island,” he noted.

“The timeline for Riverside Park is a little bit unknown at this point. There’s a lot of factors we have to consider there, and a lot of work that has to be done. I mean the pier for example, we still have all of the railings off. We’re certainly hoping to have both those parks opened up for people to enjoy as we get into hopefully some better summer weather here.”

City-owned boat launches also reopened today, and Wightman is urging all trail users by the river to be careful as the water level is still high.

“We do feel its safe, but certainly anyone using that trail needs to be aware that the water levels are very high there,” he added. “They are lapping up against the edge of the trail and people need to use a lot of caution.”