The pumps are working overtime at the Penticton Yacht Club and marina where parking lot flooding is now considered imminent and the threat to the clubhouse intensifies.
“We only have about seven centimetres of wall left, and after that, Okanagan Lake will become our backyard,” said fleet captain Bruce Merit.
Merit arrives at 5 a.m. every day to check the lake level.
“Right along the red brick row, that basically will all be under water, that is where the lake will breach,” he said.
The city installed 25 concrete barriers over the weekend to protect the clubhouse.
“The barriers behind me, should they be breached over the next few days, the flooding will occur in the parking lot here and we’re trying to keep the restaurant and clubhouse protected,” said Penticton mayor Andrew Jakubeit.
He added city-wide flood prevention efforts have been expensive.
“So far it’s been over $500,000 which is significant. Fortunately, Emergency Management BC has been funding the vast majority of that.”
Okanagan Lake could rise another 25 centimetres before it peaks in mid-June.
The city is focusing its efforts on reinforcing protective barriers in the most vulnerable areas.
“We’re up towards about 120,000 sandbags. The fire department is in charge of the operations demands for sandbags and the placement of them to protect the city infrastructure, said Penticton Fire Chief Larry Watkinson. “So we have been going for about three weeks now, 14 hour days in some cases, building and deploying sandbags.”
Merit said they’ve done all they can and now can only hope Mother Nature gives them a break.
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