Lakeshore residents face threat of flooding
Okanagan Lake expected to rise above full pool on weekend
The level of Okanagan Lake is expected to rise above full pool this weekend. Waterfront property owners are being urged by emergency operations officials to take precautions that include sandbagging flood-prone areas and securing their docks.
The lake has risen 48 centimetres in the past week, to an elevation of 342.31 metres above sea level. This is 17 cm below full pool, the notional capacity of the lake.
Record warm temperatures that have quickened the snowmelt, along with a forecast of rain, will increase the amount of water pouring into the lake.
Environment Canada issued a special weather statement Wednesday warning of showers and possible thunderstorms today and Friday. The agency issued the statement due to the potential for the rain to impact flooding.
Overcast conditions and daytime highs of 20 C and 22 C are forecast for Friday and Saturday, respectively, before a return to sunshine and temperatures in the mid-20s early next week.
“It is likely that by Friday the lake will reach full pool at 342.48 metres and exceed this level by the weekend,” the EOC said in a release.
In West Kelowna, city crews began installing a dam at the Green Bay canal entrance to keep floodwaters away from sewers, waterlines, roads and electrical infrastructure.
“Other areas of concern include public parks and infrastructure in the Pritchard, Casa Loma, Gellatly Bay and Whitworth Road areas,” stated a city release.
Last year, the lake peaked at 343.251 metres on June 9, tying an all-time record high. Floodwaters swept into many areas of beachfront parks, destroyed hundreds of docks and eroded some waterfront properties.
Meanwhile, residents of seven properties in West Kelowna are breathing easier.
The Central Okanagan emergency operations centre said Wednesday evening that an evacuation alert for the properties in the 3900 and 4000 blocks of Hitchner Road and 1860 Jennens Rd. had been rescinded. The alert had been in effect since May 4.
Five states of local emergency remained in place in the Central Okanagan including one from 5625 Westside Rd. to 10374 Westside Rd. Other areas covered by local states of emergency are Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland and Lake Country.
Evacuation orders still in effect cover 2808 Capri Rd. in West Kelowna and 8375 Westside Rd.
As well, evacuation alerts cover eight properties on Old Boucherie Road on the Westbank First Nation and one at 8375 Westside Rd.