B.C. warned about low staffing at River Forecast Centre: report

A 10-year-old report brought to the public’s attention on Wednesday shows the B.C. government was warned staffing levels at its River Forecast Centre were far below those at similar operations in Oregon and Alberta.

The 38-page report, released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, was written by a former senior official in the Minister of the Environment, Jim Mattison.

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The report noted the forecast centre staffing levels needed to rise from five-and-a-half employees to a minimum of 12 if the agency was to provide effective critical warnings to vulnerable communities threatened by floods.

The release of the report comes following criticism the forecast centre was not quick enough to provide flood warnings during the storms in mid-November.

“Community flood protection will require serious review with more floodplain planning, better flood protection works and floodproofing requirements behind dikes. Most importantly, there will be more emergency response planning and greater call for earlier and more accurate warnings of flood events,” Mattison wrote.

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The forecast centre has not increased staffing since the 2010 report.

Mattison’s report noted that in Alberta, a province nearly 300,000 square kilometres smaller than BC, the number of people working at its Edmonton-based river forecast centre was 24.

In the United States Pacific Northwest, its Portland, Oregon-based river forecast centre employed 16 people.

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“The five forecasters working in Portland are supported by five hydrologists; the six forecasters in Edmonton are supported by six forecast technologists and five river engineers and technologists. B.C. has two forecasters with a single engineer,” Mattison noted in his report.

Public Safety Mike Farnworth was asked about the report on Wednesday and said he was aware of the findings.

Farnworth went on to note since 2010 there have been significant changes in terms of technology and how the forecast centre uses the information.

“We have incredible staff working in the River Forecast Center. They do incredible work. But like after any event, such as we’ve seen, whether it’s wildfires, heat, dome or floods, we obviously do a review of what has taken place, always trying to identify gaps or areas where we can improve,” Farnworth said.