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Broadwater Road residents allowed to return home after evacuation order

Area near Castlegar evacuated due to flooding risk
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It has been a stressful week for a number of residents on Broadwater Road in Robson.

On Sunday morning a portion of the road was closed as runoff and debris from a nearby creek flooded the road.

As the day wore on, the situation continued to worsen and the Regional District of Central Kootenay issued an evacuation order for residences from 3966 to 4013 Broadwater Road.

The affected addresses include the Parkwood Trailer Park and Ponderosa Mobile Home Park.

More than 50 homes were evacuated and the majority of residents found shelter at the Castlegar Sandman Inn.

On Monday evening the evacuation order was downgraded to an evacuation alert and residents were allowed to return home.

As of press time damages to the road were still being assessed by Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and crews were developing a plan repair the road.

RDCK spokesperson Dan Elliott said the cause of the road problems was a blocked culvert and that the section of Brodwater Road near the 4000 block had washed away.

Throughout the incident traffic was able to access points further up Broadwater Road by crossing over the Hugh Keenleyside Dam, but access was limited to residents and essential services only.

The RDCK also issued a local state of emergency for flooding and evacuation alerts for properties near streams and rivers through out the entire district.

Residents living along the Slocan River were under an evacuation order for a few hours late Saturday and early Sunday.

“The storm system that passed through our region this weekend caused havoc on our water systems, but has cycled through and water levels in our smaller creeks and tributaries are back to pre-storm levels,” said Chris Johnson, RDCK emergency operations centre director.

“It is important for everyone to exercise extreme caution near streams, creeks, and rivers as it is difficult to fully understand the extent of the changes or damages to our systems.”

READ MORE: UPDATE May 31, 3:00 p.m.: RDCK declares state of emergency, issues evacuation orders for Crawford Creek, Duhamel Creek and Broadwater Road.



betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com

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Betsy Kline

About the Author: Betsy Kline

After spending several years as a freelance writer for the Castlegar News, Betsy joined the editorial staff as a reporter in March of 2015. In 2020, she moved into the editor's position.
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