Osoyoos Lake continues to see earlier freshet flow with another forecasted drought

Early freshet continues

Photo: Sarah Crookall

Osoyoos Lake is continuing to see an earlier freshet, according to the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control.

During Tuesdays's council meeting, Mayor Sue McKortoff shared findings on the lake's vulnerability to climate shifts from a report by Northwest Hydraulic Consultants.

McKortoff sits on the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control and said it's forecasting earlier freshet and continued drought conditions.

Freshet refers to the timeline of snowmelt from mountains into the lake. This year's winter saw low levels of snowpack.

"We were looking at 2017 because it was an early freshet," McKortoff said.

"Okanagan Lake's level was raised in order to accommodate later in the season, and then in May, we had amazing rainstorms, and that threw everything off balance, and we ended up with a flood down here."

The mayor added the board is looking at examining Okanagan Lake regulations to manage the freshet.