Debris on the Okanagan Lake shoreline in Kelowna is seen on May 16, 2017 in this file photo.
Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
May 22, 2018 - 3:03 PM
OKANAGAN - Barring some serious rain, the volume of water pouring into Okanagan Lake is starting to diminish, leaving government officials optimistic that it won’t reach the same level as 2017.
“We’ve been telling local governments to plan for 343 metres,” Shaun Reimer said, during a teleconference with media today, May 22. “We don’t think, based on current conditions, that we are going to get there."
Reimer is head of public safety and protection for the Okanagan region of the Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resources which controls the dam system on Okanagan Lake.
Okanagan Lake is still rising, but at a rate of three centimetres a day, half the amount of last week. Reimer said the lake will continue to rise for the next 10 to 14 days but the rate of rise will also fall.
Creek and stream levels south of the Okanagan Lake dam have also continued to drop, allowing the ministry to increase the outflow of water without contributing to flooding downstream.
However, the amount of outflow is limited by the structural capacity of downstream dikes and channels, which could fail if subjected to water floes beyond their design threshold.
Reimer said despite that limitation, no plans are in place to increase the capacity of the Okanagan River.
“Certainly it’s been part of the discussion, but it would be a serious undertaking,” Reimer said, requiring upgrades along the length of the channel between Okanagan Lake and Osoyoos. “There is no firm plan in place.”
The B.C. River Forecast Centre’s latest snowpack survey shows the Okanagan Region at 127 per cent of normal.
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