Expect more floods, Marsh Lake residents warned

The Yukon government gave a warning to Marsh Lake residents recovering from this summer's flooding: expect more.

"I think that we can only expect the water levels to increase in the future, and expect higher and higher levels in the future," Yukon government hydrologist Rick Janowicz said at a public meeting in Marsh Lake Thursday evening.

Nearly 80 residents showed up with questions about the summer's record high water levels in the Southern Lakes, which include Marsh Lake, and how the territorial government will deal with future flooding.

Government officials gave few answers, but promised another public meeting in March.

"There's people that's been asking a lot of questions about what are we doing individually, what is government going to do," said Eric Magnuson, assistant deputy minister of community services.

"I am here to tell you that we cannot give you a definitive answer tonight as to what we're going to do."

In August, Marsh Lake reached all-time high water levels, beatingthe record set in 1981, flooding many homes and cottages and causing some to erect tall sandbag walls and dykes.

Janowicz said levels are returning to normal conditions only now, but added rainfall this month has already been 150 per cent of normal levels.

A lot of that rain has fallen as snow at higher elevations, he added, possibly forming the start of another record high snowpack like the one that contributed to this summer's flooding.

"Annual and winter temperatures have increased. Winter and summer precipitation have both increased over the last 30 years. And Marsh Lake shows a definite increasing trend in water levels over the last 30 years," Janowicz said.

"We can only expect this trend to continue. I'm a firm believer of climate change."

Government officials say they're issuing a contract for engineers and water experts to study the flood and the damage, then recommend ways to reduce the impact of future floods in the area. Magnuson promised the results of that study at the March meeting, before the ice melts again in the spring.