Water levels are still high along Joseph Creek on Monday following areas of flooding in Kinsmen Park and Baker Park over the weekend.
In Kinsmen Park and Baker Park, Joseph Creek has breached the side banks and has flowed into low-lying areas, but no damage to homes or structures is being reported, says the City.
“It’s been an interesting few days, for sure,” said Chris Zettel, corporate communications officer with the City of Cranbrook. “With the rise in the temperature and all that rainfall we had Friday and into Saturday, it’s certainly made Joseph Creek rise quite quickly.
“Now, things have levelled out, they’re not getting any worse, they’re not getting a whole lot better either, but it’s just one of those things that we’re watching.”
According to Environment Canada, there is no rain forecasted until next weekend, however, higher water levels can also be attributed to snow melt.
“We’ve still got a fairly substantial snowpack that’s still got to melt so that tells us that the flood potential and flood risk will still be with us for a while,” Zettel said. “But at this point, levels at Idlewild are normal right now, certainly the flows through Joseph Creek have reduced quite visibly over the last few days.”
Should the water levels suddenly rise, the city has plans in place to address it.
“We’re as prepared as we can be right now, we’re watching things and if things turn for the worse, we’re going to be ready to deal with it,” Zettel said.
With fast-moving water going through the creek channel, Zettel warns people, children and pets to stay away from the banks.
“With the creeks high, it’s really important that people stay away from the creek; stay as far back as you can, especially the kids,” Zettel said.
“We’ve got Joseph Creek running in behind St. Marys School and fast moving water and water in general is attractive to kids, so the biggest thing for the foreseeable future is keep as wide a berth away from the water bodies as you can until the freshet passes.”