Club at risk as waters rise
Hundreds of sandbags holding back nearby Okanagan Lake had the Penticton Yacht Club and Marina looking like a war zone Thursday afternoon. Crews have been working to fortify the area around the clubhouse in order to prevent any further damage after Tuesday night’s wind storm.
“It’s been an adventure” said club vicecommodore Darren Vipond. “We started sandbagging about two weeks ago and the water’s come up 22 inches (56 centimetres) since we started. So we’re on our second layer of defences now.”
One of the key barriers is the breakwater running along the west side of the marina.
It suffered significant erosion damage during the storm. The anticipated $110,000 cost of the repair will be covered by the B.C. government.
“The City of Penticton can undertake these repairs as soon as they see fit, and collect funds from the province on a cost recovery basis” says a statement from Emergency Management B.C.
Repairing the breakwater is now a priority for the club.
“We get a storm and it could wipe out $9 million worth of docks,” said Vipond. “All of the docks and all of the boats would be in the parking lot. It’s the worst we’ve seen it by far.”
The water level is so high it’s also separating docks from their pilings, leaving crews scrambling to make temporary repairs and move boats to shallower areas or out of the water entirely.
As of Thursday at noon, Okanagan Lake was hovering around 343 metres above sea level and could gain as much as another 10 cm before it peaks, according to the latest projections received by the City of Penticton.
The lake, which had gained 12 cm since noon Monday, was 52 cm over the peak target level and on pace to drown the record 1948 high-water mark of 343.05 m.
Until the water does start to recede — expected sometime in mid-June — the yacht club’s focus remains on fortifying the barriers and weathering the storm.
“We’re trying to get it so that we can save the clubhouse. Water is about 10 inches higher than the clubhouse floor, but we’re holding it back,” said Vipond. “We’ve got a big bladder in the one boat launch. We’ve got highway barrier blocks surrounding the whole property. Currently, I’d guess we have 9,000 sandbags.”
Unseasonable weather has played a role in the severity of the situation in the Okanagan Valley.
For the months of March, April and May, “we’ve seen an extra 100 millimetres of rain on top of what is normal” said Weather Network meteorologist Kelly Sonnenburg.
“The region typically receives 85 mm but there’s been 185 mm.”
The forecast points to near-normal precipitation levels for the remainder of the summer, but slightly above-average temperatures for June and July could still be a factor.
“There’s a decent snowpack in the mountain peaks,” said Sonnenburg. “All that heat building becomes a concern for that snowmelt.”
Elsewhere in the city, crews spent Thursday building up fortifications – which now include 35,000 sandbags – along the Okanagan Lake waterfront and fishing debris out from under the pedestrian bridge near the art gallery to prevent Penticton Creek from spilling over its banks.
Flooding remains a concern throughout the entire region, with temporary dams sent to Summerland and Naramata, and evacuation alerts still in place south of Oliver and in Twin Lakes.