Water level of small lake near Peachland drops after dam valve vandalized

Thanks to a sharp-eyed resident, water concerns in Peachland aren’t being floated after surprising vandalism was discovered at a nearby municipal dam.

On Tuesday, the small community announced that a manual valve that helps control the level of nearby Silver Lake was intentionally damaged sometime last month.

Located around 15 kilometres above Peachland, the lake is the source water for Silver Creek, which leads to Trepanier Creek and, eventually, Okanagan Lake.

2:11 Officials encourage water conservation

Last Friday, a cabin owner in the area noticed that the lake level seemed lower and he investigated the dam.

According to the District of Peachland, the cabin owner found damage to the locking chain and valve wheel, which resulted in the lake level dropping 18 inches.

He closed the valve and then contacted town staff, who came out to investigate and re-secure the valve.

“If the vandalism hadn’t been noticed when it was, the lake level would have been drawn down further,” the district told Global News.

“However, due to the natural underwater topography of the lake, it would not have emptied out entirely.“

The district says a natural, underwater berm at the channel entrance would have eventually stopped the flow of water, though the level would have dropped another 24 inches or so.

4:35 Improving water quality in your home

“At that point, the water within the main basin of the lake would have remained and the valve at the outlet would no longer be passing any water,” the district said.

The dam is located on the southeast side of Silver Lake. It is about six metres high and around 30 metres wide and was originally constructed in 1920, but was reconstructed in the fall of 1980.

The lake acts as emergency storage for the Trepanier water supply system.

The district says it is considering installing a security camera and that anyone with information regarding this act of vandalism is asked to email sgrundy@peachland.ca.