Lakefront docks wrecked by storm
Property owners work to protect homes, save damaged docks from rising waters of Okanagan Lake
Lakefront property owners in Kelowna are desperately trying to salvage their docks, many of which were ripped apart during a severe windstorm Tuesday night.
Gerry Kalytuk was carting sandbags onto his dock, which was already underwater, with a wheelbarrow Wednesday morning.
“We’re trying to anchor the dock,” he said. “It was anchored a few days ago, but obviously not enough. The wind really whipped up last night and it took a lot of the sandbags right off the dock, so that’s why we’re trying to reinforce it today.”
Kalytuk, whose property has otherwise been safe from flooding so far, is mainly concerned with keeping his dock intact.
“It started floating during the night,” he said. “It hasn’t come apart, but there’s one down the way here that has come apart.”
From Kalytuk’s backyard, several neighbours could be seen piling sandbags onto their own docks.
In Michael Neill’s backyard, a large pool of water nearly 30 centimetres deep has taken over the usually sandy beach.
“What should normally be our beach that goes along here is completely flooded,” said Neill. “Everything was calm for days, and this just gently filled up (with water), then yesterday was mayhem. The wind was so strong, the waves were so high. They were crashing immensely.”
The flooded beach was filled with fallen branches and debris, and a picnic table and firepit on the sand were surrounded by water.
Neill’s dock was also mostly underwater; he has been trying to protect it with barrels of sand, but some of the boards have come loose, he said.
“The barrels have 1,000 pounds of sand in them, and a wave just knocked one of the barrels off the neighbour’s dock inch by inch and threw it into the lake,” he said. “I think we’re going to have many, many docks all come apart.”
Neill expects the lower part of his yard closest to the beach to be flooded soon.
“We were hoping to save some of our landscaping, but I’m pretty sure this lower area is all going to eventually get compromised,” he said. “It will be a big landscaping project later on.”
Although Neill’s house is high enough and far enough back from the lake, he also has concerns about a nearby creek, which has flooded the park across the road from his front yard. “We’re going to be an island,” he said. As of Wednesday morning, Okanagan Lake had risen another 4.5 centimetres to 342.95 metres above sea level, five centimetres below its highest recorded level of 343 metres in 1948.
“Another day or two and the lake should be at this historic level,” said Tom Wilson, spokesperson for the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre.
Many buildings in Kelowna were designed with the 1948 flood level in mind, said Wilson.
“Keep in mind they add another 60 centimetres on top of that as an extra buffer.”
Water levels are expected to remain high well into July.
A return to warmer weather later this week is expected to speed up the snowmelt at higher elevations, boosting creek flows.
“I think a lot of people haven’t gotten the message that this is serious,” said Wilson. “We’re not trying to be fearmongering, but there’s a very real potential for the lake to be at unprecedented heights.”
Residents who may not have experienced flooding in the past should be ready, he said.
“The water has nowhere to go. Even people farther upstream should bear in mind the water could back up farther upstream.”
The regional district is also advising residents to be aware of the risk of falling trees near lakes and creeks.
As well, beaches have been closed and boating is not recommended because waves could erode the shoreline and damage property.