Strange houseboat is a fixture on Kalamalka Lake.

(MARSHALL JONES / iNFOnews.ca)

There's a houseboat on the south end of Kalamalka Lake that has been a fixture for years, but few people seem to know where it came from and whether it's legally moored in place.

The boat has been floating near the lakeshore just north of Lake Country for at least seven years and possibly as many as 20. Some residents in the area called "an eyesore" for the neighbourhood of Oyama. In the past, the windows on the boat have been shattered. They've since been repaired but it now appears to be listing to one side. It also appears the owner has disturbed the lake to try to protect it, including a moorage buoy with "SLOW NO WAKE" printed on it.

Whether the boat is allowed to be where it is, and who is responsible for regulating this type of issue is complicated, as we discovered trying to find answers.

The Regional District of North Okanagan directed calls to the City of Vernon. Vernon redirected calls to the Regional District of Central Okanagan, which referred us to various provincial ministries.

No one answered the central question: Is it allowed to be there and whose responsibility is it?

Canada distributes responsibility for water use between each level of government, so the governance of each lake, river, and stream is different.

The portion of Kalamalka Lake where the houseboat floats is part of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. If there are rules about who can have a houseboat on Kalamalka lake it would be either decided by the district or delegated to the district of Coldstream.

It does not appear the RDCO has zoned Kalamalka lake for any specific use.

In a similar instance in West Kelowna in 2015, there was a precedent setting decision which allowed the City of West Kelowna to remove houseboats from Gellatly Bay because the city had zoned it for recreational use. 

If the RDCO or the B.C. Ministry of Forests does not have any specific zoning on Kalamalka Lake the implication is anyone would be free to leave their houseboat there until the city, district or province either creates zoning on the lake or decides they are unlawfully occupying Crown land.

READ MORE: West Kelowna had right to give houseboats the boot, court rules

So far no one from the government has been able to say with certainty who is responsible for checking on structures floating in Kalamalka Lake.

If you know who owns the boat or who is responsible for regulating houseboats we’d like to hear from you. Send an email to news@infonews.ca.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2023