In November 2021, the City of Merritt and the Nicola Valley, experienced a devastating once 1 in a 200-year flood event. The event was one of the worst flood disasters ever to hit the small community.

A major atmospheric river event caused widespread flooding of the Coldwater River, overwhelming critical public infrastructure.

Dike and bridge were inundated, as was the City’s Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant. The event caused extensive municipal, commercial, and residential property damage amounting to about $150 million. School, Healthcare and essential services were unable to operate. The entire community of more than 7,000 people had to be evacuated.

Members of our team partnered with the City, to plan and lead the process to secure emergency disaster relief funding. The partnership was successful with the City and the community receiving the much needed funding to help repair, rebuild and upgrade the damaged infrastructure. BLP team members were also directly involved in conducting environmental impact assessments of the areas impacted by the event.