EDITORIAL – N. Thompson landowners can’t fight river threat by themselves

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

I WENT FOR A LOOK at some North Thompson River properties with the mayor and some members of the media yesterday and what we saw was shocking.

One property off Dairy Road has lost a massive amount of land — several acres worth — to the river in a recent slide. The owner says it happened virtually overnight. And it’s not over yet — huge rifts in the ground are a signal that more land will erode into the ever-changing river.

Another property, just north of the intake for the Noble Creek Irrigation System, is also losing a long swath of bank. And it’s obvious that once the temporary riprapping at the intake is removed, the river is going to cut through the point and claim even more.

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson wants something done to stop it. He knows that proper riprapping along such a huge stretch of river is beyond the resources of the City and he’s trying to get the federal and provincial governments involved. He’s also consulting with Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc.

His view is that riverside landowners are taxpayers like everyone else and deserve help, and he’s right. When things get to the point they’re at with the examples we saw yesterday, it’s simply not possible for the owners to protect themselves — their very homes are at risk.

Traditionally, the attitude of senior governments has been that property owners whose land is threatened by river erosion are on their own. Even trying to get permission to riprap at your own cost is tough.

But things have changed. Climate change, clear cutting of forests, and dramatic changes caused by forest fires have changed runoff patterns and the way rivers act.

Rescuing just the properties we saw yesterday could cost millions. Add to that all the other properties fighting off erosion in the province and we’re talking billions. But, as the mayor says, the losses will be much higher if preventive measures aren’t taken.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.