Photo: City of Merritt

The City of Merritt is building a lined pit for residents to dump silt left behind following last month's catastrophic flooding.

City work crews in Merritt are in the process of building a lined pit for residents to dump muddy silt left behind in homes and yards when floodwaters receded.

The dump site is being built west of Walmart near Highway 5, off Airport Road.

“The city requests that residents and contractors do not dump the material on the Claybanks Overflow,” the City of Merritt said Sunday in a post on social media.

“This site is not able to contain any contaminants that may be present, and the material will eventually need to be relocated. Please store your material on-site until the disposal site is ready.”

The Coldwater River began to spill its banks on Nov. 14, and Merritt was evacuated the following morning. The city's critical infrastructure suffered significant damage and many resident remain out of their homes.

The dumping pit is expected to be ready on Tuesday.