People floating the river near Enderby are causing problems

Photo: File photo

Every year people flood into Enderby to float along the Shuswap River on a hot summer day.

And every year there are complaints about traffic, parking, garbage, trespassing and other concerns related to the floaters.

And this year is no exception.

Enderby mayor Greg McCune said the issue of floaters and the challenges they bring has been a issue for years.

McCune said it is only a small percentage of floaters that are causing all the problems.

“99.75 per cent of the people enjoy the river and do a wonderful job at it,” said McCune.

But the remaining fraction make a mess of the river and the surrounding area, leaving garbage in the water and the shoreline.

“Could they put it somewhere else? Absolutely, but they are just never going to,” said McCune. “They are not part of society that respects anything.”

The long-time mayor said what they need is somebody to “float the river everyday and clean it up, but how do you fund that? That is the challenge.”

Items found in the river and on the shoreline ranges from deflated floaties to cell phones and other items.

One idea that was presented was to charge people for parking and then use that money to fund the cleanup efforts.

McCune said summer students could be hired to clean up the garbage, but so far the plan is nothing more than a suggestion.

And McCune said police have more important things to do than look out for floaters behaving poorly.

The Splatsin First Nation borders Enderby and they too are having problems with floaters.

A member of the Splatsin First Nation has posted signs that a popular launching spot is actually on private land, but people trespass anyway to get the waterway.