27

Cyril Colonel described another method of dealing with the boils: "Wherever there were leaks, with water coming up through the dykes, they'd put pipes into the holes in the dykes and pump the water into the farmland. This helped reduce the water erosion inside the dykes, and control the rate of water flow onto the farmland."

28

Art Winters pulling a wheelbarrow.
June, 1948
Creston Valley, BC

29

In some places, troughs like these were used instead of pipes. Water is visible running off the end of the trough near the centre of the photographs.

30

Dykes that were leaking under pressure, being reinforced on both sides.
1948
Creston Valley, BC

31

On the outside, or river side, of the dykes, holes could be plugged by pounding planks vertically into the mud. This, according to Bill Irvine, also deflected the water from the softened dykes. "The planks were twelve or fifteen feet long," he remembers, "and we'd pound them in tongue-and-groove so there were no cracks between them, and deep enough that only the ends showed above the dykes."

32

Planks placed on the river side of the dykes to minimize wind and wave erosion.
June, 1948
Creston Valley, BC

33

Another cause for concern was wind-wash. As the water rose, the wind whipped up waves on the surface of the river, and the waves tore at the dykes. Planks were laid flat on the dykes to prevent this.

34

Sandbagging and reinforcing the dykes to stop the flooding.
1948
Creston Valley, BC

35

"We were offered fifty cents an hour to work on the flats; that was pretty good wages in those days. It was hard work. The bags were so rough that they'd rub your knuckles until they were raw and bleeding; worse than sandpaper."
- Bill Irvine

36

Sandbagging on the Creston flats.
1948
Creston Valley, BC

37

"Here you can see the men on ramps passing the sandbags from the sloop to the dyke, there on the right. There's another ramp in the back; it looks like the men there are just standing. They're probably waiting for another load to come in on the sloop. The cats were pretty good at keeping us supplied with sandbags; we had two or three coming, one after another. There wasn't often much of a break in between loads. But after you'd unloaded the sloop, you could sure use a rest."
- Bill Irvine

38

Men being fed sandwiches and coffee by local women's organizations after working on the flats.
June, 1948
Creston Valley, BC

39

The men would work for four or five hours, then take a break, then go back and work some more. Bill Piper remembers working for thirty-six hours, with only short breaks every few hours.

The local Red Cross and other ladies' organisations provided coffee and sandwiches for the men.

40

Women serving sandwiches and coffee to the men that were working on the dykes during the 1948 flood.
1948
Creston Valley, BC