Lakefront properties warned to keep protections in place
Okanagan Lake is down one centimetre from Sunday and now sits at 343.181 metres above sea level.
Jason Luciw, at the Emergency Operations Centre in Kelowna, says the drop in the lake's level is welcome news, but it has a long way to go before reaching more normal levels.
"We're still seeing historic lake levels – today at 70 cms above what's normal for this time of year," says Luciw. "And if you were to do a quick calculation – say it went down anywhere from 5 to 7 cms a week in a good week – you're still looking at some time in August before we get down to that normal level."
Luciw says you'll see crews removing barriers east of Pandosy along Mill Creek, and from some downtown businesses, but homeowners along the lake should keep flood protections in place.
He says what's noteworthy is that city, and BC Wildfire Service crews, are also removing sandbags from private properties sparing homeowners the hassle.
"They're loading them up onto pallets and out of the way, so these people who are no longer under any threat of flooding can start getting their lives back to normal – and hopefully in the next 3 to 4 weeks – we'll start seeing that along the lake, but unfortunately that's not a reality for the lakefront yet," says Luciw.
Kalamalka Lake, meantime, has dropped 6 mms and now sits at 393.361 metres.
For up to date flood information – visit www.cordemergency.ca.
