Sandbag removal begins

Photo: Gerry Faux

A little girl looks over a wall of sandbags at Okanagan Lake.

Sandbag removal on private properties that are no longer under threat of flooding has begun.

On Tuesday, crews started in Kelowna and West Kelowna and will move to Lake Country, Peachland and areas along Westside Road in the coming weeks.

Removal will take place Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and is expected to last until the end of August.

Local contractors will be accessing waterfront properties to remove sandbags in the South Pandosy area from Lake and Royal avenues.

A staging area has been set up at the end of Cadder Avenue in front of the beach access.

Sandbag removals will occur in the Pritchard, Whitworth, Gellatly and Green Bay neighbourhoods.

“Under no circumstances should sandbags be emptied into any creeks, lakes, wetland, beaches or other watercourses as outlined in the Water Sustainability Act,” stated a press release.

Waterfront property owners not in the listed areas should keep them at a level that protects against wind and wave action.

Sandbags that have been sitting in water could contain mould and precaution should be taken when removing them.

Yard-waste sized debris can be taken to Glenmore landfill or these locations:

• The Westside Residential Waste Disposal and Recycling Centre on Asquith Road in West Kelowna. Regular yard waste disposal charge applies.
• The transfer stations at Traders Cove and North Westside with a maximum load of 250 kilograms, 10 bags or one pickup load.

BC Wildfire crews spent about 40,000 man hours producing and deploying sandbags and it is estimated that the clean-up efforts will take about 150 per cent to 200 per cent of the labour required to deploy sandbags.

For more information visit this link.