Kelowna News

A very small minority of boat owners are causing a vast majority of problems on Okanagan Lake.

RCMP Corporal, Gerry Guiltanene, told City Council, only a handful of local boats are causing many of the noise and speed issues which draw the ire of residents each year.

"There's probably about a dozen resident boats and then on the weekend we may see an influx of boats from other parts of the province or the U.S.," says Guiltanene.

He was at Council Monday to update the city on the rules of the water and the options available to try and crack down on loud, fast boats.

"We have a nice long winter ahead of us, so let's get this done and go through different governments and get something passed before next season starts because, you're right, somebody is going to get killed on that lake," says Councilor, Norm Letnick.

"160 miles per hour you said? What's 160 miles per hour doing on Okanagan Lake, it just doesn't make any sense.

Councillor Robert Hobson, says the issue is not just a Kelowna problem, but a regional one.

He says it's also a Regional District issue because they pay the additional policing costs for the police to be on the water.

"This is going to take a concerted approach. A $109 fine for people with $50,000 to $100,000 boats is not going to deter people," says Hobson.

"There has to be some escalation. If it doesn't lead to forfeiture or loss of license or something like that, they are just going to continue to laugh at us, which unfortunately is what they're doing."

After listening to the presentation, Councillor Barrie Clark, says he feels the solution lies with the launching of the offending boats.

"If we could get the various jurisdictions to ban the launching of these boats, let them take us to court to try and prove we don't have the power. That to me would be a pretty easy, simple, straightforward thing to do," says Clark.

"Some of the private launches we have probably very little power to deal with, but some of the other private launch facilities we do. We could question their license because they are licensed operators."

Clark says offenders could be summoned before council to show cause why their license shouldn't be removed.

City staff will look at all possible avenues open to the city and report back to council.