2017 flood repairs taking much longer than expected
More time is needed to repair a section of Powers Creek damaged during flooding in June 2017, city officials say.
Provincial regulations require such work to normally be completed by Aug. 26 to protect fish spawning habitat.
However, the amount of rock, gravel, and other debris swept into the creek is too great to be completely removed by that deadline, city councillors will hear tomorrow.
City officials are seeking an extension to the deadline and they warn of potentially serious consequences should one not be granted.
“Missing this August 2018 fisheries window would likely result in delay of the project until August 2019, which lays outside the current disaster Financial assistance funding timeline, and could put the Gellatly (Road) bridge in jeopardy during the 2019 freshet,” reads part of a report to council by Five city officials.
High water flows, followed by flooding along the shore of Okanagan Lake last year, brought debris into Powers Creek. Remediation work, which only got underway earlier this month, is intended to restore the channel to its pre-flood capacity.
Recognizing the urgency of getting the work done soon, West Kelowna council in July told staff to waive elements of the normal purchasing policy and immediately award the remediation contract to the lowest of the bids received.
Two tenders were submitted, one for $1.5 million by Lakefront Restorers and one for $726,000 by Woodland Spirit Contracting Ltd.
“The city has experience working with Woodland Spirit Contracting on various projects in the city, most recently restoration of Smith Creek below Gellatly Road and Upper McDougall Creek,” the staffers write in the report to council.
“Both the city’s consultant and staff believe the contractor has the experience, resources, and expertise to complete the work as described in the tender,” they say.
Remediation work has now begun on the creek.Of the $726,000 budget for the creek repair project, the city expects to recover $580,000 from the province.