Race Against the Rain | Protecting our Wilderness Property from Flood

Added: 2026-05-08

[00:00:06]This is unreal.

[00:00:10]I hope it doesn't wash out his driveway completely.

[00:00:13]Spring is here, but so is the danger.

[00:00:16]>> The snow melt has left the ground like a saturated sponge.

[00:00:19]>> There's a weather warning for a rain event coming in about 48 hours.

[00:00:24]Well, everything looks fine, high and dry right now, but the next rainstorm could change all that.

[00:00:31]If we don't clear the blockages at the creek today, then the road and other properties upstream could be in trouble.

[00:00:37]>> But I've got to be smart about this.

[00:00:39]We're going to start at the bottom and work our way up.

[00:00:42]In the past, during spring thaw and heavy rains, we've had the road and properties upstream flood.

[00:00:49]The flooding damages property, kills trees, and blocks access to land. And I'm wondering if the culvert downstream is blocked since we haven't been there since last fall.

[00:01:00]Maybe. We'll have to check.

[00:01:02]I've studied this whole drainage system over the 10 years that I've been here.

[00:01:06]I've monitored the water flows, and I can see one crucial choke point.

[00:01:14]This one culvert seems to be causing an issue.

[00:01:19]Like there's a restriction. It's like as if it's a a cork in a bathtub, partially blocking the the bottom of a bathtub.

[00:01:28]It's partially blocking the natural flow of water.

[00:01:32]It doesn't completely block the flow, but it sure seems like it's restricting the natural flow. So, when it rains, it just backs up the bathtub upstream. But I can't pull the plug here yet. The pressure's probably too high.

[00:01:46]I'm going to have to go down to the bottom end, open and drain the lower end at the culvert and beaver dam at the lower end of the creek. And then as those water levels drop, then I'll be moving upstream and clearing any blockages as I go until I get up to here. Usually after every rainstorm, the culvert backs up the system and floods the land. It's happened several times now.

[00:02:08]It'll only take about an hour or so at this upper culvert to clear it properly.

[00:02:13]The key is to ensure that the work I've done downstream first will allow that upper culvert's water to drain low enough so I can work on it without any danger. Once I've got that lower water level down, then I know I can clear this upper culvert.

[00:02:29]So, you see there's a sequence I need to follow in order to make my plan work.

[00:02:32]But what I want to know is, is that culvert plugged and clogged up with debris, or is it too small to handle the flow?

[00:02:42]The only way to get started is to clear the lower blockages first and get the water level down to the regular high water level and get all that done before the rain start. I've at least got to get the water level down to what we call the danger danger level, and that's the regular high water level. As you can see, we've got a ways to go. There's about nine more marks underneath of there, about 1-in space, so at least 9 in to go before we get to our regular high water level.

[00:03:58]Today my back feels pretty good, but we'll see how it is after a mile of trekking and clearing all that mud. We have to follow the sequence, or the plan fails. So, let's get going on that now.

[00:05:05]Spring thaw this year came quick, and a neighbor was kind enough to come and clear the ice off of the ditches so that the water would flow through and get away.

[00:05:16]Yeah, it's been quite a spring. The provincial drainage act talks about the responsibilities of the property owner and making certain that the natural flow of water isn't blocked.

[00:05:28]Oh, no.

[00:05:31]So, it's the responsibility of the property owners to make sure that the natural water flow remains unrestricted to flow downstream. Yeah, we don't want to be liable for any damage to any upstream properties.

[00:05:45]So, that's why we want to make sure we clean out our culverts.

[00:06:13]Well, water's up above that flag that we posted 2 days ago. It's up above about that much.

[00:06:22]Okay, so I noticed that this culvert the culvert at this end here, it's totally underwater now.

[00:06:29]Yeah. And the other day it was about just above water. So, what you're saying is that the culvert down there that you suspect is either clogged or too small is causing the water to back up now to here, to this culvert, and that's bringing out the water across the road, and that could cause our property to flood in the next torrential rainfall. We could be in trouble. Yeah, there's several properties up along here that that are affected. As it backs up, if it continues to back up, then it spills out and over the road. Let's see if there's any flow, right? I mean, if if there's flow at the top end going under that culvert, then shows that the system's moving.

[00:07:10]Let's see.

[00:07:11]All right, let's see what happens here.

[00:07:12]I got to So, it shows we have some flow.

[00:07:23]Okay, now we'll test across the road.

[00:07:27]This hydro crib is Let's see.

[00:07:31]Let's see the water's a lot higher this time than what it was last time.

[00:07:36]You can see down here.

[00:07:41]Let's see if it's flowing.

[00:07:50]I just saw a piece of grass trying to get sucked in there. The water is moving downstream, that way. When the water on the far side, if it gets blocked by any blockage at all and creates that bathtub effect, the water will rise there, and then it'll start rising on this side, and instead of the water flowing that way downstream, the water will then actually reverse and come through the culvert as it pushes up, and then starts to flood this whole area, floods the land, and then eventually gets up high enough that it then spills over the road and floods the whole road as well.

[00:08:30]So, right now, after this rainfall we've had, things seem to be okay.

[00:08:35]I can see a little bit of current there.

[00:08:38]There goes a leaf under the water, and it's just very slowly There it goes, got pulled into the culvert. So, very slowly.

[00:08:50]Just going to do the floating grass test here.

[00:08:54]See if it's going into that culvert.

[00:09:01]>> [snorts] >> Should have come out by now.

[00:09:08]Yep, didn't come out.

[00:09:17]Some water is coming out, but So, as long as we don't get a torrential rain, I think we'll be okay. Let's just hope we don't get more rain.

[00:09:26]Well, we've done all we can do to drain this upper culvert area. Any suggestions? The road is safe for now, and the trees can breathe. If it floods again, their next step is to contact the local roads board.

[00:09:40]And I think now we can go back to the cabin and relax with some peace of mind.

[00:09:46]I'm Glenn. I'm Maureen.

[00:09:48]>> We'll see you next time. Over and out.

[00:09:50]Take care.

[00:09:56]>> [music] >> Mhm.