Municipal crews are preparing for the melting snow and possible high water levels this spring.
Kris Johnson, director of works and utilities for the municipality, said the municipality is putting together an information bulletin for the community.
He said Okanagan Lake now is at one metre below full pool and roughly 50 centimetres below the level at this time last year.
However, the melting snow and spring runoff are flowing into the lake.
“Right now we’re at about the lowest level we’ll see the lake get to,” Johnson said. “We expect the lake level will slowly begin to rise by the end of April.”
In Penticton, the water is discharging out of Okanagan Lake at a rate of 60 cubic metres a second, the maximum capacity of the channel.
Johnson said the goal is to reduce the lake level as much as possible.
The melting snow is also filling the reservoirs and dams in Summerland’s water system.
Last Wednesday evening, Garnett Lake began to spill. As a result, the volume and flow of Aeneas Creek is increasing.
Last year, the municipality had to cope with flooding in the Garnett Valley area in April. Then, the level of Okanagan Lake rose and resulted in flooding throughout the valley.
This year, snow pack levels are much higher than normal. The most recent readings from Summerland’s sites are 159 per cent of normal.
Ground water levels are also significantly higher than normal throughout the valley, Johnson said.
