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Watch for high river water

B.C. Hydro has to lower Alouette Lake reservoir to prepare for more storms

Residents along the South Alouette River will notice its level climbing in the next few days as B.C. Hydro takes advantage of a break in the weather to release water from the Alouette Lake reservoir.

The waterflow from the dam was increased beginning Thursday morning, allowing 42.5 cubic meters per second to flow down the spillway.

That will raise the water level along the South Alouette from the lake to the Pitt River.

“If you live along the river, please note that the water flow and water levels will increase until the release is complete. Please share this information with your friends and neighbours along the impacted watercourse,” Maple Ridge city says on its website.

“We’ve had a lot of rainfall in the last couple of weeks,” said Maple Ridge spokesman Fred Armstrong.

Usually the draw down of the reservoir takes a few days, when there’s a break in the rain. “So they pick windows when they draw off water.”

That way there’s some capacity in the reservoir the next time a storm hits.

The heavy rain caused the B.C. River Forecast Centre to issue a high streamflow advisory on Wednesday. That remained in effect on Thursday.

Rainfall totals were forecast to range from 50 to 150 mm by Thursday morning for the Fraser Valley. River flows were expected to continue Thursday with flows slowly receding by today.

Armstrong said so far there’s been no major flooding in Maple Ridge.