Yesterday I wrote this piece about how the water level is so high in nearby Alouette Lake that, for the first time since the 1990s, it's pouring over the BC Hydro dam located there.
The headline was "Dramatic footage shows Metro Vancouver dam overflowing into its spillway", and the piece included a video (above) that's been viewed 30,000 times. The article has been shared 2,700 times.
Unfortunately the grainy footage of what is essentially a waterfall looks... well... almost peaceful.
So the internet reacted the way you'd expect it to; with much snark.
Some of the best zinger comments we received included:
"This is the least dramatic video I've seen in my entire life."
"I'm sorry where was the drama?"
"Lmao i pour my milk more dramatically than this."
However this is the hill I am choosing to dig into and die on today, so I'm arguing strongly against it not being dramatic.
If you've ever been to the beach next to this dam on a sunny summer day you'll know that it's quiet except for the sound of children gleefully playing in the water.
Skateboarders have been known to trespass into the spillway (I'm not recommending you do this), and when I saw the footage of the dam flowing I instantly throught of video clips like this one below, and children swimming nearby.
If you've ever been to Alouette Lake, or anywhere with a dam like this, the footage should be dramatic to you.
If you haven't, you should take a visit to this one when the water gets lower and they repair the road.
Have a picnic.
Sit on the Vancouver Is Awesome park bench that we purchased at the boat launch in 2011.
Sit there and think long and hard about how wrong you were to say that the video is not dramatic.
And smile.
