Dock replacements checked by officials
Company rebuilding flood-damaged docks says public access to shoreline protected
Docks on Okanagan Lake that were damaged by spring flooding are being rebuilt in a way that preserves and protects public access along the shoreline, say owners of a pile driving company.
Conservation officers regularly visit work sites to make sure construction of the new docks complies with rules that govern such things as the structures’ length, width and the necessity of having staircases on either side.
“Last weekend, we got inspected at every single one of our job sites to make sure the guidelines were being followed,” Brittney Jones, manager of Shoreline Pile Driving, said Monday.
“I think it’s important for people to know that because there’s this impression out there that the government isn’t enforcing the rules around docks, and that’s just not the case at all,” Jones said.
Along the Kelowna shoreline, there were approximately 275 licensed docks before Okanagan Lake began rising in early May.
More than half of the 2,000 docks on Okanagan Lake were damaged or destroyed as the lake rose to a record elevation, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations estimated in late June.
The force of the rising water warped some docks and pulled many others off their foundations.
As of last week, the ministry had received applications for about 40 new docks along the Kelowna shoreline.
“However, it is important to note that many docks only needed minor repairs, so dock owners did not need to submit new dock applications,” the ministry said in an emailed statement.
New dock applications were being turned around in about 45 days, Jones said, praising the work of Front Counter BC to expedite the review and approval process.
Environmental considerations require most dock work to be done by the end of September, Jones said. “So we’re under some time constraints right now to get as much of the work done as we can before the window closes,” she said.
General dock regulations include: it not extend more than 42 metres from the shoreline; it have a walkway width of no more than 1.5 metres; and it have a moorage platform or float of no more than three metres in width.
The docks also must not impede access along the lakeshore between the highand low-water marks.