Peachland, B.C., calling for province to update lake level management practices

The District of Peachland is hoping that the province will take a closer look at how it manages Okanagan Lake water levels.

“We were a little surprised to find out that a lot of it is based on very old information,” Mayor Cindy Fortin said.

“It’s really based on a report called the basin report, that the federal and provincial governments did back in the mid-’70s.”

While the information has since been refined over time, Fortin also pointed out that the climate and other environmental factors have changed significantly in the last few years.

“We have heavier snow pillows, and we have quicker melts, and we have more rain, plus there’s been a lot of forestry in particular up in our watershed,” she said.

Peachland is hoping the Regional District of Central Okanagan and Okanagan Basin Water Board will help lobby the province, pushing for it to re-evaluate its flow management models and practices.

“When the lake levels came up really high, it washed away a lot of infrastructure,” Fortin said. “There’s been an awful lot of flooding and destruction of property.”

However, Fortin said that environmental concerns, including the impact on fish, should be prioritized over property.

“But if there’s anything we can do to lower the lake level, or if they can maybe use different metrics to calculate it and make it easier on people,” she added.

Okanagan Basin Water Board executive director Anna Warwick Sears said now is the right time for the province to update the flow management practices.

“They know that they need to do it. There’s been a number of studies that came out after (severe flooding in) 2017 that talked about what had to happen on the Okanagan Lake system,” she said.

“I think that they’re very well-meaning, and they want to do the right thing, and I think that we can push them to do it faster,” she added.

8:16 Extended interview with Okanagan Basin Water Board about Okanagan Lake water levels

Managing the lake requires a delicate balance between a variety of factors, including flooding risk, fish concerns and drought potential, Warwick Sears said.

“It’s Mother Nature who’s making the calls, so we’re just trying to respond to Mother Nature, trying to predict what she’s going to do one year to the next, one season to the next, even sometimes one week to the next,” she added.

In an email, the province said it hasn’t received any request from Peachland about updating their models yet.

“The province would be open to discussing these issues but believe that they are complex and require further information, particularly with regard to impact on drought and fisheries management in the Okanagan Valley,” ministry spokesperson Tyler Hooper said in an email.

“Ultimately, changes to Okanagan Lake target levels should be determined in consultation with local government, First Nations, the federal government, and other interests.”

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