Flood Protection Removal in Lake Country and West Kelowna News Release #128
Through the weekend, flood protection will be removed on private properties along sections of shoreline in Lake Country and West Kelowna.
In Lake Country, BC Wildfire Crew contractors will be removing sandbag defences from the Bottom Wood Lake Road, Turtle Bay and Woodsdale areas, while in West Kelowna, flood protection and sandbags will be cleared from the Okanagan Lake waterfront in the Casa Loma and Pritchard areas. This work in West Kelowna is expected to continue through Tuesday.
Work is expected to take place between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Residents in these areas will be notified via electronic roadside signboards, through local media and the Emergency Operations Centre communication channels. Sign up to receive e-updates from the EOC at www.cordemergency.ca.
The interactive map at www.cordemergency.ca/map has been updated to show where and when crews are working to demobilize sandbags, including the Lake Country and West Kelowna locations on private property.
Crews will continue working through the weekend on removing flood protection on public lands in low risk flood areas along the waterfront in Kelowna and Peachland.
Demobilization and recovery is taking place in these areas where lake levels have receded making it safe to remove flood protection measures. Other residents should keep all flood defences in place until the Emergency Operations Centre issues notification through on-street signage and public service announcements.
Waterfront property owners with sandbag walls can begin to lower them, but should keep a wall that protects against wind and wave action to a height of 60 centimetres above the current lake level (Okanagan Lake – 342.914m / Kal Lake – 392.14m). Residents removing sandbags and working around stagnant water should also take precautions to protect themselves, by wearing gloves and rubber boots, as well as washing hands regularly.
Under no circumstances should sandbags be emptied into any creeks, lakes, wetland, beaches or other watercourses as outline in the Water Sustainability Act. The impact can destroy fish habitat and affect drinking water supply, infrastructure, flood control, navigation and recreational activities.
More information about sandbag locations for drop off, debris removal, details about recovery efforts, and a link to the online Emergency Management BC sandbag recovery application along with a tool for residents to report damage to their properties, is available at www.cordemergency.ca/beprepared/flood-recovery.
By collecting information about properties that sustained flood damage, the recovery team will better understand the magnitude of flooding and it will assist in preventing future flooding. Officials will also be able to understand how flooding has impacted the community and be able to connect residents with helpful resources.
As a reminder, the previously issued Evacuation Order for several waterfront properties north of Killiney Beach Community Park in the RDCO Central Okanagan West Electoral Area remains in effect. In addition, four Evacuation Alerts are also still in effect in the District of Lake Country, one for a property in the City of Kelowna, an Alert for properties in the Green Bay area of West Kelowna and one the Westbank First Nation reserve along the Okanagan Lake waterfront north of the W.R. Bennett Bridge. Emergency Operations Centre staff are regularly monitoring the status of these Alerts and Order and will remove or adjust them when conditions change and it is safe.
Through the weekend, residents and visitors boating on Central Okanagan lakes are encouraged to keep their wakes down and respect that any wave action can cause shoreline erosion and potentially impact waterfront flood protection. Boaters can view the Boating Wake maps at www.cordemergency.ca/map, which indicate no and low wake boating areas. Once lake levels reach more reasonable levels, regular boating activities can resume.
For municipal information such as boat launch, park and beach closures, and water quality advisories, visit their websites:
Staff in the Emergency Operations Centre will continue working through the weekend. The next regularly scheduled Information Update is planned for Monday morning, July 10th.
To stay informed about flooding and the recovery efforts, visit www.cordemergency.ca, sign up for e-updates or call the information line at 250-469-8490.
