28 March 2007
Slide Causes Sewer Storm
Maria and Tracy Raynolds' back yard broke off and slid down
over the CP tracks on Sunday.
Maple Ridge British Columbia - Maria and Tracy Raynolds
have seen the astonished looks when they tell about the stately area of Maple Ridge with the wealthy homes perched on cliffs
overlooking the Fraser River that has no storm sewers.
That may be amusing to outsiders, but it's aggravating to them. Part of their back yard, in the 21400-block of River Road,
tumbled down the cliff Sunday about 1:30 p.m. after heavy rains pelted Maple Ridge, again.
"It was just bizarre. It was just a little crackling sound. Maria described it as someone crumbling up some paper," Tracy
said.
While Maria went to warn their neighbours, Tracy went to his lawnmower. As he looked back, "the slope was gone."
The mud and sand tumbled all the way down to the river and piled on to the CP Rail mainline, where it stopped a 69-car
freight train in its tracks.
CP Rail spokesman Ed Greenberg said there was no derailment and no injuries.
One line on the double track was cleared by 7:15 p.m. Sunday and the second cleared by Monday afternoon.
The slide had three families on River Rd. temporarily evacuated. They were allowed to return to their homes hours later, but a fourth
family was still out of its home on Tuesday.
Wood Street resident David Moys and his wife are still waiting for a geotechnical consultant to look at their house before moving back
in.
That may take a few days.
His sundeck dropped 60 centimetres Sunday and one wall was pulled out.
"There's no visible sign of land slippage. It's sinkage," Moys said.
He's anxious to get back home. Tuesday was the last day that emergency social services would pay for the couple's hotel room.
Moys, though, is comfortable moving back in even though his home is closest to the cliff overlooking the river.
He's checked the walls and found there are no cracks in the foundation and it still seems to be level.
The incident has renewed calls for a storm sewer in the area. In March 2005, River Rd. resident Dr. Kwadwo Asante led a petition to get
storm sewers following a 2004 report by Golder Associates. The petition cited increased development and the vibrations of heavier
trains below as two safety concerns.
Asante said the fatal mudslide in North Vancouver in 2005 was one of the motivations for the petition.
Asante said if storm sewers are ever installed, it should be at the district's cost, rather than on a local improvement basis for which
residents would share the expense.
"We should be serviced like anybody else. It shouldn't be a special tax," Asante said.
"I think it's something which is needed. It should go without saying, there should be drainage in this city."
His letter also notes that storm sewers at one point were about to be installed in the area, but were stopped.
Public works manager Frank Quinn said that would require researching to see if that was the case.
Meanwhile, Maria and Tracy Raynolds say the district isn't enforcing its own rules, which say major expansions or new homes can't be
built in the area, known as the Fraser River escarpment, unless all storm water is prevented from running on to the ground.
But the couple notes that one new large home has been built nearby and another is undergoing expansion.
"It's contrary to their own regulations and it really upsets us," Tracy said Monday.
He said it was fortunate the train was a heavier freight train, rather than the West Coast Express.
"It would have just blown the West Coast Express, I'm sure."
Tracy said storm sewers were supposed to be put in five years ago. They need to be installed in order to keep stormwater from soaking
into the ground and making it unstable, he added.
"The storm sewers, I'm sure, would reduce 50 to 60 percent of the water coming through here.
"People talk about it, but they really need to do something about it," he said.
Residents will have to wait until Monday before learning the district's response. That's when a new report on the topic by Golder
Associates comes to Maple Ridge council to address the issue.
Quinn said the district could work with the consultants to figure out the most strategic location for storm sewers. If that's
determined, council can then consider how and when to pay for them.
Coun. Al Hogarth wonders if the district should try another company, though. Golder has been involved since the 1970s and there's still
no resolution to the problem, he said at Monday's workshop.
Quinn said he doesn't know why the area has never had proper storm sewers. They have been installed on River Road from Darby Street to
about 207th Street and some other homes in the area have been hooked up to storm sewers.
A letter from engineering staff in 2005 in response to the petition from residents points out that infrastructure improvements will be
installed in a phased approach.
The letter also notes that two storm sewer projects would cost more than $1.25 million and are scheduled for beyond the
five-year period.
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