Close your eyes at lake level
Photo: Archive image
Penticton Dam manager Shaun Reimer predicts that Lake Okanagan will rise above the full pool for the next 24 hours.
“We are always concerned when there is a lot of rain, as we are reaching our annual peak and this is a goal we are trying to reach because it provides a water supply for irrigation and fishing and for the rest of the summer. and in the fall. “
“When the extra input caused by the rain reaches the lake, obviously we can go above this full pool goal. That doesn’t mean we’re going far above this full pool goal. It really depends on the rain. “. said Reimer.
Reimer says that before the recent and significant rains, the rate of increase was going down.
“We climbed less than a centimeter a day. That told us we were starting to lose some snow because this entry was mainly due to snow. If we have 20 millimeters of rain, that’s two centimeters. in the lake directly beyond what falls into the tributaries and streams “.
Reimer says as of Monday morning the lake was five inches below the goal of the full pool.
“There is still some space, but we hope this rain will arrive and I think it is still a bit uncertain about how much rain will reach Okanagan. We should have a better understanding in the next few days.”
“We’re practically maximizing the outflow. We could probably increase it a little bit more, but that would also start affecting a lot of other people downstream, and when we’re not at our maximum yet, it would be very difficult to justify.” He said.
Reimer says he is monitoring the tributaries downstream.
“They are rising because of this rainy event. As the road opens and these streams fall, it gives us a little more space to put water in the Okanagan River between Okanagan and Osoyoos Lake.”