With Spring well underway and as the ice continues to melt, the Town of Hay River is taking some special precautions for the inevitable rise in nearby water levels.
Over the last several years, Hay River has had to deal with a number of emergency situations that come about when the winter ice melts away and causes flooding for much of the community. At its worst, this has caused the community to almost completely evacuate and travel to neighbouring locations for shelter.
As they do every year, Hay River has just recently begun their process of examining the relevant environmental data to help develop response strategies to help make sure the Town is as prepared as they can be for this year’s melt.
Glenn Smith, the Senior Administrative Officer for Hay River, shared that things are looking much better this year compared to last. Smith explained that the Town’s Emergency Management Organization has been meeting with various partner agencies to keep everyone up to speed.
“We met last week to kick off that seasonal preparation. We always plan around this time of the year just due to the seasonal breakup of the Hay River and the potential ice jamming that could lead to flooding. There’s a lot of different activities that we look at.”
Smith explained that some of the practices being taken around the community include inspecting local infrastructure, cleaning out key pipes and channels, examining valves, and making sure that special monitoring crews are set up with the proper equipment.
With everything that has been examined so far this season, Smith says that things are looking good for Hay River.
“Conditions are looking favourable for us, with respect to no flooding this year, given very low water conditions. Our committee meets and reviews some of the hydrology reports and water forecasts that are produced by the GNWT and ECC, as well as our own information. It’s a little bit early for some of that data, but we use what information we have, and things are looking favourable with the low water levels.”
Smith explained that the Hay River basin itself is experiencing average water levels, and that all signs are pointing to a much lower risk to the community than there has been in the last five years.
Still, the community continues to prepare just in case, and Smith says that the most important thing that local residents can do to help is to keep an eye on official information channels, and keep each other informed of what is going on.
Smith added that while the Town is also preparing for any wildfire incidents, they are not expecting to see much activity in their area this year, as the 2023 and 2024 wildfires have already burned much of the viable fuel around Hay River.
