Okanagan Lake level dips but doesn’t indicate peak has been reached

The water level in Okanagan Lake has decreased again but emergency officials say that does not necessarily mean a peak has been reached.

The lake dropped 1.9 centimetres between Tuesday and Wednesday morning and now sits at 343.218, a level that is still quite above full pool.

“Okanagan Lake is still 73 centimetres above full pool so we have a lot of water left to go before we get down to a comfortable level again,” Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Director Bruce Smith said. “So people need to keep their defenses in place.”

The EOC says weather will continue to play a role with heavy rain causing lake levels to rise again. Compounding the problem is wind which is in the forecast for Wednesday afternoon as well as Thursday.

“There is a special weather statement from Environment Canada that suggests we could have extremely gusty winds up to perhaps 60 kilometres an hour tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening,” Smith said. “So we are going to see another defensive challenge taken by Mother Nature in the winds in the central Okanagan.”

Residents are being urged to check sandbags daily and if needed, repair, replace and fortify them to ensure adequate buffer and protection.

The EOC also reports a decrease in the water level in Kalamalka Lake. Kale Lake now sits at 392.408 metres, down 1.5 centimetres from the 392.423 metre mark Tuesday morning.