Some of those who live near Kelowna’s Mission Creek are preparing for the possibility of more flooding.
Okanagan Lake is hovering around record levels and more water is expected to come down Mission Creek in the next few days as high elevation snow pack melts.
“Residents living along Mission Creek, especially those closer to the lake, should reinforce protective measures. With nowhere for the new snow melt to go, there is a high potential for backwater effect at the mouth of Mission Creek,” said Brian Reardon, the director of the Central Okanagan’s Emergency Operations Centre, on Friday.
Byron Truswell’s family’s property has Mission Creek on one side and Okanagan Lake on another. On Saturday, the lawn looked more like a pond. There were even fish swimming in it.
The Truswells are following the Emergency Operations Centre’s direction to bolster flood defences. On Saturday, they were out building sandbag walls around their home.
“It is just basically a battle of wills right, Mother Nature verses us. Mother Nature has been at it longer but we are kind of stubborn about it,” said Truswell.
So far, the water is only underneath their crawlspace and hasn’t caused significant problems in the house.
“It is not quite reaching the floorboards, but it keeps getting close and we get the pump going,” said Truswell.
Across the creek, Eric Leung’s family has put a lot of work into building their own sandbag wall to protect their garden and neighbours with homes at lower elevations.
When the city does dry out, Leung says the community should take time to plan for the next one and put preventative infrastructure in place.
Okanagan Lake rose 5 cm between Friday and Saturday.