Pier could be toast

Lakeside landmark could prove to be unrepairable

Alandmark on the Penticton waterfront may have been damaged beyond repair this spring by wave action on flooded Okanagan Lake, council heard Tuesday. City engineer Ian Chapman said he’s still awaiting a consultant’s report on the prognosis for the Kiwanis Walking Pier, but preliminary inspections have revealed severe damage to support beams that hold up the deck and damage to pilings that hold up the beams.

“Unfortunately, a lot of these pilings have rotted over the years. It’s not necessarily directly attributable to the storm damage, however, (the storm) has clearly accelerated the structural damage because of the movement of the whole structure crashing up and down,” Chapman said.

Even worse, the consultant noticed some pilings have wasted away below the waterline.

“The engineer made the comment that a lot of strength remaining in those pilings is a function purely of the outer perimeter of each pile cap where the original creosote has preserved it, all of the inside having basically rotted away,” said Chapman.

“So I don’t have high hopes we’re going to get a very easy fix on that structure.”

The pier is, however, fully insured with a $10,000 deductible, and Chapman said the insurance company had its inspectors on site two weeks ago at the same time as the city’s consultant.

Meanwhile, council approved Tuesday taking $160,000 from general surplus to fund a variety of other repairs this year that were also made necessary by spring flooding.

The work includes fixing brick walkways, repaving the yacht club’s parking lot, repairing a retaining wall at the dog beach and adjusting exterior infrastructure at the SS Sicamous, which is now sitting 45 centimetres higher than it used to.

Chapman also got council’s blessing to begin planning work for two other major repair projects — fixing a sheet piling under the suspended walkway and replacing an estimated 3,000 tonnes of beach sand — that will likely be undertaken next year at a cost estimated in the range of $460,000.

The city is expecting the B.C. government to reimburse about 80 per cent of the bill through its disaster assistance program.

Coun. Andre Martin suggested freeing up $200,000 immediately in case any of this year’s projects go over budget and require further dickering with the province.

“What I’m afraid of is if we don’t have the right numbers, we’re going to stall the process,” said Martin.

Chapman assured the politicians, however, that he’s “fairly confident that these numbers are good.”

I don’t have high hopes we’re going to get a very easy fix on that structure. City engineer Ian Chapman