'I'm going to be in big trouble': Vancouver Island snowpack remains high, increasing flood risk

A cooler-than-average spring has delayed the snowmelt on the mountaintops behind Russell Farm Market in North Cowichan, B.C. That is a potential threat to the business.

“I’m going to be in big trouble,” says France Bournazel, owner of Russell Farm Market.

The owner of the market has experienced more than $500,000 in damages caused by two separate floods over the past two years.

”Now they’re talking about another flood,” says Bournazel.

Reports from the B.C. River Forecast Centre show that the provincial average snowpack sits at 113 per cent of normal. Vancouver Island sits at 108 per cent.

“It was surprisingly wet and cold here on the island,” says Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist with the B.C. River Forecast Centre.

Rain at sea level often means snow on the mountains when the conditions are right.

“If we had some type of heat dome, like a heatwave in late May or early June where we get temperatures 12, 13, 14 degrees above normal for four or five days, that’s probably the greatest risk,” says Boyd.

The risk is major flooding in areas like North Cowichan.

“If another flood was to happen again, the positive thing is we’re more prepared,” says Bournazel.

After two remediations, the walls around the interior of the market are now covered with easy-to-clean metal sheeting. Electrical plugs have been moved a metre up the walls and coolers have been outfitted with flood breakers.

It's still not a scenario the business owner wants to experience again. She says another major flood could mean the end of her business.

Snow remains in the hills around the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. (CTV News)

“Unfortunately, this region is prone to flooding,” says April Diver, emergency program coordinator with the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD).

Diver says that with our climate changing, the potential for more flooding is imminent and people need to be prepared.

“Know where you’re going to go and know where you’re going to meet up with your family if you can’t go back home,” says Diver.

She went on to say to have a emergency preparedness kit ready and to sign up for a warning alert system.

“It’s the best way to know that there is something coming and that they have to take action,” she says.