Flood emergencies ease in some areas as new evacuation order issued for Twin Lakes

PENTICTON – Four emergency flooding situations have eased in the regional district, but residents at Twin Lakes and along the Similkameen River continue to be threatened by rising water.

Emergency operations communication officer Zoe Kirk said three engineering reports concluded the gabion wall protecting nine properties along the Twin Lakes shoreline was “tenuous” and needed buttressing in order to keep water pressure from rising lake levels form damaging it.

Members of the military worked until after midnight to shore the wall up, but nine properties were evacuated as a precaution yesterday evening, May 22.

Kirk said additional pumping of water out of Twin Lakes into the Park Rill Creek system will take place today, May 23, after an assessment of the work done to mitigate flooding in the vicinity of Sportsmens Bowl was deemed capable of handling the extra water.

The number of flood related emergencies in the regional district are diminishing this week, as situations ease and evacuation alerts for 508 properties were relaxed in various parts of the regional district yesterday and today.

Kirk said all local creeks and rivers in the regional district are stabilizing, noting the regional district rescinded an evacuation alert for 60 properties in Electoral Area “F” near Faulder.

Yesterday, the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen rescinded an evacuation alert for 54 properties potentially under threat of Shuttleworth Creek spilling its banks in Okanagan Falls.

An easing flood threat in the Sportsmens Bowl area also resulted in rescinding of an evacuation alert for 131 properties approximately 10 km north of Oliver yesterday as well.

In the Similkameen Valley, flooding threats to 263 properties in Area “G” and “H” eased enough to rescind an evacuation alert covering those properties.

But four homes located six kilometres west of Keremeos remain under evacuation order as crews work to beef up a weakened section of Similkameen River bank that is threatening properties in that location. Kirk said 100 loads of riprap have been delivered to the area to beef up the dike but more work is needed.

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