Dredging Churchill River would prevent flooding, says Mud Lake Road resident

Some residents of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Mud Lake Road wantthe Churchill River dredged to reduce the risk of flooding.

"We need this river dredged to take the sandbars because the sandbars are built up," said John Chiasson, who lives at the end of Mud Lake Road.

"Our problem is that when the ice gets hard it comes and it blocks our riverand that's the sandbars that are doing that."

Dozens of households were evacuated in 2017 when an ice jam caused the river to flood. This year, river levels rose high enough to spark floodwarningsfor Mud Lake and Mud Lake Road.

• Flood warnings issued after water levels spike in Lower Churchill River
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"People who have lived here all their lives are saying the two channels need to be dredged and you can go and do studies all you want," Happy Valley-Goose BayMayor Wally Andersen said. "I think dredging is common sense."

If they can do a project for $13 billion then we believe that they can dredge twochannels to provide comfort and safety to the people of the Upper Lake Melville area and just as important to the residents in Mud Lake.- Wally Andersen

An independent assessment done in the wake of the 2017 flood recommended exploring the idea of dredging the lower river as a possible mitigation measure in the future.Theprovincial government, however, isnot considering it.

"Over the last two years, the provincial government has enhanced water level monitoring and improved flood preparation on the lower Churchill River. This will protect residents by helping better predict and mitigate the effects of future floods," reads the statement.

"If we can get a dredger to come and dredge the river out, even up as far as the causeway, and make a trench where the ice and the water can flow in the spring of the year, we won't have that problem no more," Chiasson said.

Many have expressed concerns about the growing size of sandbars in the lower parts of the Churchill River. Andersen said he's heard from residents who have been travelling on the river for over 60 years, and in the last three or four years, their motors havedragged on the river bottom for the first time.

The mayor said the provincial government should be able to afford the dredging, given how much money has been spent on Muskrat Falls.

"Yes, it'll cost money but if they can do a project for $13 billion then we believe that they can dredge twochannels to provide comfort and safety to the people of the Upper Lake Melville area and, just as important, to the residents in Mud Lake," said the mayor.

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