Enderby park submerged by rising Shuswap River

Photo: Contributed

While weekend rains were not as intense as expected, Enderby's Emergency Operations Centre says Tuey Park (also known as Waterwheel Park) is now submerged and has been closed.

The rains did contribute to a further rise in river levels, the EOC reports, and traffic on Waterwheel Street is restricted to local only. The submerged portion of the road adjacent to agricultural land has been gated off, but no residential accesses are restricted.

The Shuswap River is currently flowing at 437.3 cubic metres per second.

Levels are expected to rise rapidly over the next 24 hours as the rains of this past weekend impact the river and the areas that drain into it.

"After that, we are expecting the rise to taper off slightly, but the river will continue to increase its level over the next 10 days, with a forecast high of 515.6 cubic metres per second on June 10," the EOC says.

Residents along the river are advised to take measures to protect their properties. Sand and sandbags are available for free at the Public Works Yard at 2308 McGowan Ave.

The BC River Forecast Centre is maintaining a high streamflow advisory for the Shuswap River, predicting that levels will continue rising and localized flooding is possible.

A high streamflow advisory can escalate quickly into a higher level of warning, like a flood watch or a flood warning, due to temperature, precipitation, and snowpack, the EOC advises.