Hope, B.C. residents say homes at risk due to embankment erosion

Some property owners in Hope, B.C., fear their homes could be washed away if something isn’t done to protect against future flooding.

The properties sit along the Coquihalla River, an area devastated by the flooding in 2021 when some homes were washed away.

The homes in question survived the flooding, but lost part of their properties and the houses were left perilously close to an embankment.

“It’s eroding. It’s right to their fence line and they’re very concerned about losing their home and their livelihood,” said Hope Mayor Victor Smith.

“We’ve done engineered studies and we’d like to build a wall there, but we have to be careful because we are concerned about our fish,” Smith said, adding that they would like provincial officials to come and assess the situation.

A nearby golf course was also damaged during 2021's catastrophic flooding. Half a fairway was lost and some of the greens were buried.

“So now we have an exposed bank to the river where any events of that magnitude in the future would be just torn apart,” explained Steve Wilson, Hope Golf’s club director.

Kent Mckinnon, president of Hope Golf and Country Club, said the river banks need to be shored up.

“We need the river cleaned up. You can see there’s quite a collection of debris that came with the atmospheric floods,” he said.

On a visit to Hope to speak to residents about flood mitigation, the local MLA said the province needs to step in.

“We’ve been talking about this for a year and a half. We’ve invited the minister to come and actually see the damage done and we’ve had no response,” said Fraser Nicola BC United MLA Jackie Tegart.

“That’s really disappointing.”

In a statement, the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness said that in March of 2022, the province funded the District of Hope for a geotechnical assessment of the area where the homes are at risk.

The statement also noted that last month, the province announced $500,000 for Hope’s Lower Coquihalla watershed resiliency planning.

The province also said it provided hundreds of thousands in additional funding to the Hope area following the floods.

Hope’s mayor agrees that the provincial government has stepped in to help in some key areas following the flood. But he said the work is not done yet.

“We’re just trying to get their ear, to get them to come take a look at this as the homeowners keep coming back to us to ask us what’s happening,” Smith said.

The mayor also said the flood was “a wake-up call” for residents.

He said some outlying areas are still heavily damaged, describing the area near Othello Road as “more like a moonscape.”

“It’s just nothing but boulders. You drive over the hill and never thought you’d see that in your life,” he said.