FILE PHOTO: The Mission Creek Restoration Initiative's newly created floodplain in April, 2016.

(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)

KELOWNA – The flooding in the Central Okanagan this spring damaged several areas of Mission Creek that were part of a restoration initiative completed last year.

Work on the Mission Creek Restoration Initiative began in the fall of 2015, but plans for the changes first surfaced in 2008.

With funding from the City of Kelowna, the Government of B.C., the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and the Okanagan Basin Water Board, creekside dikes that contained the waterway were set back and a natural floodplain developed.

These changes, including meander notches that had been removed to make room for construction, were made in order to restore fish and wildlife habitat while also enhancing flood control measures.

In a release from the Regional District of the Central Okanagan sent today, Aug. 17, project engineer Don Dobson says the changes “generally performed as designed” but that this spring’s well-above-average runoff “caused changes that need attention.”

“We’ll go in to maintain the floodplain and to modify three of the four meander notches that were built to provide fish spawning and rearing habitat for kokanee and rainbow trout,” Dobson says. “To that end, we’ll rebuild and reinforce berms along the old dike footprint to minimize erosion and prevent overflow into the side channel.”

Heavy equipment will be on site Aug. 21 to Aug. 23 and again in October. The Mission Creek Greenway dike between Casorso Road and Gordon Drive will remain open.

Project coordinator Steve Matthews says ongoing changes to the restoration components were expected.

“As a result, plans to adaptively manage the site over time in response to these changes were developed prior to project implementation,” he says. “These upcoming works will involve minor adjustments to ensure the long-term health and productivity of the creek.” 

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