More rocks for beaches?

Peachland's mostly stony beaches will get even rockier if town council accepts a staff recommendation to spend $265,000 on Áood protection.

The placement of additional rip rap — which consists of large boulders — is recommended for several well-used areas of the town's public foreshore.

More boulders are suggested for the beach around 13th Street, the day use boat wharf, and Heritage Park. Rip rap will also be placed in the future at Swim Bay, according to a report that was going to town council last night.

The suggested addition of more rip rap runs counter to a hope expressed by Peachland Mayor Cindy Fortin last year that the rip rap placed along the foreshore during the height of the Áooding might be removed. The large, jagged boulders impede direct public access to the water, Fortin noted.

"They're just really ugly," Fortin said last July. "I hope we can get them gone. I'd like to see the beach not just back to the way it was before the Áood, but even better than it was."

But additional armouring of the beaches is now needed to ensure lakeside walkways are not damaged should Áooding occur again, staff say.

"During the Áoods of 2017, some retaining walls were undermined or have failed and need to be stabilized or rebuilt," the report states.

Council approval was being sought so the work could get underway this spring and be complete before the summer.

The largest expense - at more than $150,000 - relates to repairs and improvements around the day use wharf, where boaters can tie up for a few hours while visiting Peachland.

"The day use wharf is nearing the end of its life. In addition, the walkways around the wharf were signiÀcantly undermined during the 2017 Áoods," the staff report states.

"The 2018 works will include the repair of the walkways, addition of riprap to armour the adjacent foreshore, and to initiate a multi-year dock repair," the report says.

It's expected provincial funding will cover about 80 per cent of total expenses.