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Maple Falls Road residents fed up with localized flooding

Everytime it rains a significant amount in the Columbia Valley this road gets flooded
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Jeff Hodgson stands outside his home on Maple Falls Road on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020 where he and his neighbours are dealing with flooding and several inches of mud around their homes. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)

Record rainfall has flooded Maple Falls Road in the Columbia Valley – again.

The pooling water on the road is a perennial problem causing hardship and stress for about six households on the street.

Wendy Winterton and Jeff Hodgson said their property has the worst accumulation of mud they’ve seen in years, which along with their flooded road, effectively trapped them in their home all weekend.

“We had a lot of rain, but it seems like this happens every year,” Winterton said.

The water rushes down a local creek bed, collects in a pool, and then spreads out across and down Maple Falls Road.

The flooded roadway keeps people home from work, prevents them from driving, and keeps the school bus and emergency responders away.

They’ve been trying to get the drainage problem addressed to no avail, Winterton said.

Their driveway is covered in mud, and their suspicion is that something happened on the mountainside behind their property, like a debris slide or other event.

“I don’t know what happened but this flood was really muddy,” Winterton stated.

A natural drainage mechanism for water runoff called a “kettle,” located on private property, often gets blocked, which causes the road to flood.

READ MORE: Friday’s rainfall caused Tamihi to swell

The kettle wasn’t cleaned out last year, which may be a factor, Winterton said. She has kept a log of the flooding incidents and noticed water tends to start pooling when heavy rains arrive on the heels of a snowstorm and fills the local creek to bursting.

Jeff Hodgson added that their property is the “epicentre” of the flooding problem, but no one seems to be able to find a solution.

They’ve contacted various agencies, including a phone call to Chilliwack-Kent MLA Laurie Throness but no one takes any long-term or preventative action.

This is the fourth or fifth time they’ve seen water overtop their road in recent months.

“The water is still running overtop the culvert in my driveway,” Hodgson said.

He said he hopes that somehow things will be different this time.

“Every time this happens it’s hurry up and wait. They need to create a permanent fix of this ongoing 20-plus year flooding problem.”

READ MORE: Flooding irks residents of Columbia Valley


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Jeff Hodgson stands outside his home on Maple Falls Road on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020 where he and his neighbours are dealing with flooding and several inches of mud around their homes. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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Water pours from a culvert that runs underneath the driveway of a home on Maple Falls Road on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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Jeff Hodgson stands outside his home on Maple Falls Road on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020 where he and his neighbours are dealing with flooding and several inches of mud around their homes. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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Signage on Maple Falls Road on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020 shows flooding is a perennial problem. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)
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Jeff Hodgson stands outside his home on Maple Falls Road on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020 where he and his neighbours are dealing with flooding and several inches of mud around their homes. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)


Jennifer Feinberg

About the Author: Jennifer Feinberg

I have been a Chilliwack Progress reporter for 20+ years, covering the arts, city hall, as well as Indigenous, and climate change stories.
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