Photo: Colin Dacre

The man in charge of the dam in Penticton says given the same information, he would not do anything differently.

As Okanagan Lake rises toward levels not seen in nearly 70 years, fingers are starting to point.

They're pointing at the man who controls the dam at the Penticton River Channel.

People are looking at real-time hydrometric data, which shows the outflow of water from Okanagan Lake didn't increase appreciably until near the end of April, about a week before flood waters began engulfing low-lying areas around the Okanagan.

"I've asked myself that several times," said Shaun Reimer, head of public safety and protection for the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and the man at the controls.

"But, why would I have made a different decision? There's nothing that would challenge me that I think I would have made a different decision. With the same information available to me, I would have made the same decisions."

Reimer said he was looking at low snowpacks, and a potential for drought in February and March.

"There was nothing to suggest it was going to start raining in March, and keep raining."

Reimer said there were no indicators along the way to suggest we would be dealing with the type of event that now faces many in the Okanagan.

"And, it's been constant, along with a couple of storms that can bump up the lake elevation by 10 or 11 centimetres over a day or two."

Reimer said this is much different than 1997, when authorities saw the flood coming.

"We had time to prepare for that one."

While flood prevention is his top priority, Reimer says part of the job is protecting the fishery in Okanagan Lake and Okanagan River.

For that reason, he says the level of the lake can't be lowered too much over the winter.

"The preference is we try not to drop it from the time of peak spawning, which is typically the middle of October through February, March, April, when those fish hatch, emerge and can swim."

He said it's a balancing act he must perform on an almost daily basis.