Kelowna’s ponds and marshes enjoying the end of drought

KELOWNA – The water levels in many of Kelowna’s ponds, marshes and low spots have started rising and that’s a good thing.

City forester Andrew Hunsberger said the last two years have been very wet with rising groundwater feeding increased water levels, effectively ending very dry conditions seen throughout the Central Okanagan for the last several years.

“We’ve been noticing that all over the city,” he added. “I think it’s a very good thing for riparian areas. Wildlife uses all these little ponds."

Both Kathleen Lake and Hepner's Pond on top of Knox Mountain have seen rising water levels, Hunsberger said, fuelling speculation about Kathleen Lake as the source for groundwater that is destabilizing the slope along the Knox Mountain Bench.

“Kathleen Lake has that big bowl there and it's holding more water,” he said.

Other ponds and marshes have also been undergoing a revival of sorts with the rising ground water and an increase in precipitation.

“We had significant drought over the last few years. Crosby Pond (in Glenmore) went almost completely dry but the water levels have come back,” he added.

Hunsberger said the city has also become better at protecting ponds and marshes, knowing their value as riparian areas and wildlife habitat.

Comparisons of recent aerial photographs with archival photos has also confirmed the increases seen in local ponds and wetlands, Hunsberger added.

“It’s cyclical. When you look back you will find sometimes they dried up but they always come back,” he said.


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John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca

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