City of Whitehorse has spent $500K on flood preparations

Whitehorse officials say the city has so far spent about $500,000 on flood preparations, and that the city should be "just fine" even when the Yukon River peaks.

Mayor Dan Curtis said on Thursday morning that he's confident that things are well in hand.

"What the experts are telling us is that even when [the river] does peak eventually, in mid-August, that we should be just fine," Curtis said.

"I don't believe we're going to be in the same situation as Lake Laberge or Southern Lakes."

Residents in the Southern Lakes region, upstream from Whitehorse, and those in the Lake Laberge area downstream have spent recent weeks desperately filling sandbags as flood waters rise and homes are threatened. Many residents in those areas are under an evacuation alert, and one home at Lake Laberge is under an evacuation order.

Mike Gau, the City of Whitehorse's planning section chief, said on Thursday that he's not aware of any damage to property within the city at this point. But he said work continues to monitor and protect areas where there could be trouble — the Robert Campbell bridge to Riverdale, Wickstrom Road, Marwell, the Bert Law bridge, and the Millennium Trail.

He said one end of the Bert Law pedestrian bridge has already been anchored for stability, and part of the riverbank alongside Wickstrom Road has been reinforced. 

The city has about 130,000 small sandbags and another 2,500 large "superbags," Gau said, and they're already being filled and used in some areas such as Marwell.

"We know where the low spots in the Marwell area are, and we're mobilizing our superbags to address that, to those low areas," Gau said.

Curtis said the Robert Campbell bridge is what he's thinking about most. It's the only road connection between the Riverdale neighbourhood — where the hospital is — and the rest of the city.

"We are watching that incredibly closely and it's holding up its integrity. That's the biggest concern that I have, quite frankly," Curtis said.

It's not yet clear how high the river will get in the city. That's partly controlled by Yukon Energy's hydro dam, and weather is also a factor. 

The southern territory has seen rain in recent days, but Gau said it's not enough to worry about.

"Our understanding is that it's a minor amount of precipitation that should not significantly impact the expected river rise," he said.

The city set up an emergency coordination centre earlier this month and about 30 city employees have been involved in preparations, as needed. 

Residents can find information and updates on the city's flood response website.