Editor,
Regarding the flood protection money that the Village of Telkwa received from the province (“Telkwa gets $740K toward flood protection” Interior News, March 4, 2020) and the proposed work to be done, one option was overlooked in the Flood Mitigation Plan.
Most of Telkwa’s flood problems are caused by the Telkwa River changing course during high water events. A possible solution would be to excavate overflow channels during low water flow in January and February. With this option, the river flow would be controlled by directing it and spreading it out to reduce its erosive affect.
As it is now, the river is left to make its own channels and wash away tens of thousands of tons of soil, rock, timber and debris to be deposited wherever, creating more problems downstream and destroying fish habitat. It’s a simple fix that any of our local road building contractors are quite capable of performing.
Stan Kania
Smithers, BC