What makes water worries in Naramata unique

NARAMATA – Naramata residents and the regional district continue to deal with high water issues on Okanagan Lake.

Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen Community Services Manager Mark Woods says the district had to shut down the wharf at Wharf Park in the community yesterday after wave action began impacting the wharf decking.

He says the district hopes to have weight measures in the form of sandbags or water bins placed on the wharf to limit any further damage from wave action.

Woods say he’s also concerned about the approach to the wharf, which is being eroded by high water and waves.

Emergency Services Manager Dale Kronebusch says surveyors are in Naramata determining water level expectations, as concerns are rising about the lake’s high level and potential impact on the silt bluffs along Mill Road.

Sandbagging is also being done in anticipation of higher water levels and storms.

“It’s a characteristic of those silt banks, when they mix with water, they lose their stability,” he says, adding some of the banks in Naramata are overhung, potentially weakening them further.

Kronebusch said similar fears prompted an assessment of the bluff at Red Wing Resorts, but a soil scientist has since determined the bluffs there are not under any threat as yet.

That situation, similar to the one in Naramata, will be monitored until water levels return to normal.

Kronebusch urges residents in both areas to immediately report any slumping or movement of the silt banks in both areas.

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