Due to rising flood waters, all of Collettville is under Evacuation Order.
The City of Merritt made the call at around 2a.m. on the morning of Nov. 15, after putting out an Alert five hours earlier for the 200-year flood plain of the Coldwater River.
“In their case, because of the three bridges, two of them are inundated with water, so they have to use Houston Street to get out,” said Merritt Director of Corporate Services Greg Lowis.
“If the Houston Street approach to that gets inundated, then literally the only way into Collettville is via helicopter, which isn’t an option.”
The wastewater treatment plant has now failed, causing the entire city to now be placed on Evacuation Alert. No water is to be used during this time by residents.
“We’re planning out the next steps as to what this looks like, and trying to figure out how much water is coming down the road at us, and how long you can run a city without anybody flushing a toilet,” added Lowis.
More to come.
