Planning for the cleanup

Photo: Mike Biden

Crews at work in Penticton on Sunday

While crews with the City of Penticton are still working to armour the waterfront of Okanagan Lake, preliminary planning is starting for the massive cleanup to follow.

Penticton Fire and B.C. Wildfire crews have placed well over 100,000 sandbags along Okanagan Lake, protecting infrastructure such at the walkway along Lakeshore Drive.

Chief Administrative Officer Peter Weeber says the city should be fully funded by the province for the cleanup, but logistical challenges remain.

For one, sandbags will need to be removed and trucked away to a dump site; a possible a gravel pit or other area of city property. Environmental regulations prohibit simply cutting open the bags and dumping the sand on the beach.

Weeber says the City of Penticton has two teams, one for the high-water response and another for demobilization, “as the water starts dropping, they will start getting the resources together.”

He says the city will start formalizing its cleanup plan next week.

Once the water is low enough, the city is also going to hold a community cleanup, allowing residents to help clear the beaches of debris. 

In a news release Monday, the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen also noted that advance planning for the removal of sandbags is underway. The RDOS also asks residents to stay off sandbag walls and tiger dams in the meantime.