Slumping slope could cost big bucks on Kelowna’s Knox Mountain

KELOWNA – Measurements being made this week and next will reveal whether a slumping slope on Kelowna’s Knox Mountain is still moving and what to do about it.

An unidentified underground water source was tentatively blamed for the collapsing hillside in late March on the mountain bench behind Knox Mountain Metals and below Royal View Drive.

The unstable slope and small mudslide prompted the city to close off the hillside and post a security guard to prevent entry while also closing off part of Knox Mountain Metal’s rear yard.

But the water has tapered off some and civic operations manager Stephen Bryans said the hillside has dried out enough for a geotechnical analysis to be completed.

What that analysis reveals will decide the extent of the repairs that will take place, Bryans added.

Doing nothing or simply permanently closing the popular trail along the lip of the bench is not likely an option, Bryans said.

“They will have to repair it. How they would repair it would be up to the engineers,” he added.

Bryans worked on the slope stabilization of Trench Place further along the Knox bench in 2006 involving hundreds of metres of unstable slope that threatened houses below.

He couldn’t recall the exact budget but said a similar fix could be expensive, if that’s what the engineers recommend.

“I don’t think it was over a million dollars but it was close,” he said. “It won’t be a cheap fix, it it’s like that."

“We ended up demolishing two buildings and (the bank) was longer,” he added, although he cautioned against speculation before the geotechnical report is complete.

In the meantime, Bryans said the city wants to see the hill dry out still more before allowing Knox Mountain Metals access to its yard, which sits directly under the sliding slope.

“We need to see some consistency before we think about moving those folks back in,” Bryans added.

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