Floodwater appeared at a Squamish mobile home park within hours of tree removal at a neighbouring BC Housing development, and residents say the damage was entirely foreseeable.
In a press release, resident Cal Hartnell says the flooding began on March 20, the same day mature trees were cleared from the BC Housing site at 39900 Government Road, adjacent to his park at 39884 Government Road. Hartnell says it was the first time flooding had occurred on the property, despite significant rainfall in the days prior.
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“This flooding started the same day the trees were cut,” Hartnell said. “Residents’ homes are now at risk, and this situation was entirely preventable.”
According to the press release, residents raised drainage concerns with the District of Squamish weeks before the work began, but the warnings went unheeded, and the clearing proceeded without adequate safeguards, he claimed.
The stakes are high in Squamish, which receives more than 2,200 millimetres of rain annually — among the highest of any inhabited community in Canada. The press release noted that mature trees play a critical role in absorbing stormwater in such high-rainfall environments, making their removal particularly consequential.
Hartnell is now calling on the District to investigate a potential unlawful discharge of stormwater onto neighbouring property. He has also asked BC Housing to halt further tree removal until drainage concerns are resolved.
“You cannot remove natural drainage systems in one of the wettest regions in the country and expect there to be no consequences,” Hartnell said.
