The City of Burnaby is observing the snow pack situation along the Fraser River's route, but the city's director of engineering says it is too early to tell if there's a significant flood risk in the region.
There are currently no advisory or warnings issued for the lower Fraser River, the director, Lambert Chu, said last week.
"Nevertheless, we are keeping a close eye on the water level of the Fraser River," he said. "We have already initiated our internal planning process."
The process involves the Burnaby Fire Department, the RCMP, the city's emergency planning department, emergency social services, and the engineering department, he said.
The Provincial River Forecast Centre completed a snow pack report on May 1 that stated the Fraser River Basin snow packs were higher than normal, at about 129 per cent.
The level of the Fraser River in Burnaby, near the Big Bend area of the city, is not currently an issue, Chu said, but added the city is keeping an eye on the weather.
While a few days of sun aren't an issue, Chu said, high temperatures for a couple of weeks could cause the river level to rise.
The situation is similar to that in 2007, when the snow pack levels were at about 130 per cent, he pointed out.
The city uses the Mission area gauge, he said. The gauge is currently at about three metres - if it hits six metres, the city will activate a 24-7 dyke inspection program along the foreshore of the river, according to Chu.
The gauge was at 6.1 or 6.2 metres in 2007, he added, and at about nine metres in the 1894 Fraser River flood.
While there was flooding in Northern B.C. in 2007, the lower Fraser River region - including Burnaby and New Westminster - remained unscathed.
The situation for the Lower Mainland in 2007 wasn't nearly as worrisome as some thought, Marvin Rosenau, an instructor with BCIT's fish wildlife and recreation technology program, pointed out.
It has since been compared to the story of the boy who cried wolf, the British Columbia Institute of Technology instructor added.
"Everybody was freaking out really early," Rosenau said of the 2007 warnings.
Rosenau has been an instructor at the institute since 2006. He was previously a provincial fisheries biologist and has worked in the field of fisheries since 1975 - specializing in river habitat since the mid-'80s, he said.
He has dealt with snow pack issues and with floodway and water stewardship managers over the years, Rosenau added, saying he is a professional in the fisheries field but a layman when it comes to engineering issues.
It is too early to tell what this season will bring, Rosenau said, but added he prefers taking a cautious approach.
There are some large snow packs in the upper Fraser River area and in the lower Fraser River region as well, though the middle region is only slightly above average levels, for the most part, Rosenau pointed out.
While city staff are concerned a sustained heat could bring on a melt that would elevate river levels dramatically, Rosenau said the heat this early on in the season isn't the main concern.
"If we keep having blasting heat weather patterns early in the season, it peels off the snow quickly and minimizes flood risk very quickly," he explained.
He compared the situation to the Fraser River flood of 1948, which he said started with a high snow pack, a long cold season, and a sudden heat wave at the end of June combined with a lot of rain.
"Simultaneous to it getting really hot, towards the end of June, it rained like crazy," he explained. "We basically have a whole month to blow off the snow pack before we get to the critical period that hap-pened in 1948."
But Rosenau added that doesn't mean a flood won't happen - just that it is too early to say whether there is a significant flood risk in the region.
The Provincial River Forecast Centre plans to complete another snow pack report on May 15, which will likely be released on May 22, according to its website.
Snow pack reports and other information are available on the centre's website at bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca.
The City of Burnaby is hosting a public information forum about its flood response plan on May 22 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Riverway Golf Course Clubhouse.
There will be public presentations at 4: 30 and 6 p.m. For more information, call 604-294-7460 or go to www. burnaby.ca.
