Hydraulic fluid spills into Okanagan Lake

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Hydraulic fluid spill in Okanagan Lake, cleaned up

A mechanical failure on a boat resulted in the release of hydraulic fluid into Okanagan Lake near the Penticton Marina on Wednesday afternoon.

The Penticton Fire Department responded and the situation was reported to the provincial emergency program run by the Ministry of Environment.

When Kandis Lipsett, the environmental emergency response officer, arrived on the scene, she augmented the response with the cooperation of the boat owner.

The spill, which covered about 100 metres  on the surface of the lake, was contained.

On Thursday morning, she returned to the scene to ensure that the effort, using socks and oil absorbents, had worked.

There were only trace amounts left on the surface, so the situation was dealt with, she said.

According to the emergency program’s risk matrix, it was a low risk incident.

But Lipsett stressed that she still wanted to get the message out to boaters  to be careful.

“The key message here is preparedness and to have many contingency plans put in place to be able to  mitigate spills when they occur,” she said. “In a larger spill boats could be impacted, and there are also fish in the area, many birds and even people swimming which could create a potential health hazard.”