It is loved by many but our affection for Okanagan Lake may just be hurting it.
A comprehensive report about the lake’s shoreline has just been completed and the results are alarming.
The report reveals that 57% of the shoreline has been developed to various degrees; that means only 43% of the shoreline has been untouched.
From hundreds of docks in the lake to buildings on the waterfront to pathways, the lake’s natural shoreline is quickly vanishing.
Carolina Restrepo-Tamayo of the Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program says there has been a rate of change of up to 2% every year.
Anna Warwick Sears from Okanagan Basin Water Board says if this rate of change continues, almost all the shoreline of Okanagan Lake will be lost within a generation.
Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd says a big part of the problem with shoreline development is the hundreds of illegal docks that pop up constantly.
Shepherd says the report is a wake up call.
The report is also a wake up call for all stakeholders including the provincial government, which has jurisdiction over the shoreline but isn’t too involved in any enforcement.
Shepherd says there are jurisdictional issues over who has control and whether they will be allocated money to enforce any shoreline regulations.
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