A surge is on its way, according to the B.C. River Forecast Centre.

Kamloops area waters is expected to reach flood stage in the next three days as the weekend's heavy rainfall created a dramatic rise in the South Thompson and Shuswap Lake over the weekend.

"That inflow into the South Thompson (and) Shuswap Lake takes a bit of time," said David Campbell of B.C. River Forecast Centre. "So we're expecting to see the rise in the South Thompson and Shuswap Lake to continue for the next few days and similarly that pulse to come down into the North Thompson.
"We are expecting to see the potential to reach into flood stage in those areas."

The B.C. River Forecast Centre predicted the North Thompson would peak Monday or Tuesday while the South Thompson is expected to peak Wednesday or Thursday, each rising slightly above 1999 levels.

Meanwhile, the Kamloops emergency operations centre escalated its flood action to Level 2 Sunday as crews installed Gabion retaining material along Schubert Drive on the North Shore.

City crews also worked through the night Saturday pumping and draining pools along lower areas of the North Shore and Westsyde Road caused by sealed off storm drains during heavy rains in an attempt to cut off surging river water.

"We're battling two fronts," said Mayor Peter Milobar. "There's the out of town rain driving the river levels and the in town rain, unfortunately with us having to seal off some of the storm drains, caused some localized flooding."

The good news is nowhere in Kamloops have residents received boil water advisories and there are no expected water quality concerns, according to a City news release.

There are also no issues with the wastewater treatment plant operation.

While crews work to maintain City infrastructure, residents are asked to take measures to protect their own property, said Milobar.

"We would want people to make sure they're actively taking care of their yards and contacting the fire departments for sandbag information to do what they can to protect their areas — low lying areas especially," he said.

Residents can call 250-828-3461 for flooding information or to request sandbags and sand. Sand and sandbags are available at Firehalls #1 through #6.