Creek work will go ahead

Photo: City of Penticton

Plans for Penticton Creek restoration

The City of Penticton will be able to make some progress on restoring Penticton Creek this year, despite the high water this spring.

The city was originally planning on naturalizing the section upstream from the Ellis Creek bridge, but were hobbled by a particularly cold winter and high water, which caused the city to miss the “fish window” when work could be done.

However, infrastructure manager Mitch Moroziuk told council Tuesday a $200,000 B.C. Freshwater Fisheries grant that would have funded that project could instead be spent on improving a steep 14-metre section of creek bed that is currently a huge hurdle for fish.

“The water flow is fast and thin, the fish are mostly out of the water,” Moroziuk said.

The work would replace the existing concrete bed with large river rocks to provide deeper water for improved fish passage. It would be completely funded by the grant and would be facilitated mostly by Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C. staff, something Coun. Judy Sentes called a “total win,”

“I know how many people stand on that bridge and look at the work that has been done in restoration, so I think it certainly is something that the community is appreciative of,” she said.

Moroziuk agreed, and said the city has received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the creek restoration.

“People are very pleased to see the work, they want to see that creek naturalized,” he said.

Moroziuk added the city expects to be able to hit next year’s “fish window” and secure further funding from the Freshwater Fisheries Society once this project is complete.