Observer SALMON ARM
Wednesday June 20, 2012 www.saobserver.net $1.25 HST INCLUDED
Ready to make the catch: Wayne Baldwin works on stacking a wall of sandbags to protect the water pump underneath Russ and Hilda Skinner’s Canoe residence from the rising Shuswap Lake. Officials are predicting Shuswap Lake will peak sometime next week at 20-year levels. On Tuesday morning the lake level was at 349.1 metres, however more rain is in the forecast.
LACHLAN LABERE/OBSERVER
Shuswap flood risk still rising Watch: Continued rains, rapid snowmelt contribute to high water conditions around region. By Barb Brouwer OBSERVER STAFF
Keep the gum boots and umbrellas handy. While the tail end of one system segued into a ridge of high pressure, bringing gradual drying and temperatures into the high 20s to 30s, another system is expected to bring more rain by the weekend. “It’s the season to be thinking about severe weather,” says Doug Lundquist, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, who notes the advancing cold-air system could arrive with severe thunderstorms. “June is normally wet; I call it the mon-
soonal month, but this one is on steroids.” Between June 1 and 16, the weather station at Salmon Arm Airport measured 80 mm of rain, considerably higher than normal rainfall, which is 63 mm for the entire month. Heavy rain and rapid snowmelt at upper levels has swollen rivers and resulted in the BC River Forecast Centre issuing a flood warning for the Shuswap River downstream near Enderby, and a flood watch for Shuswap Lake and tributaries, including Eagle River. A flood watch means river levels are rising and will approach or
may exceed banklevel was 349.1 mefull, and a flood tres – up 10 cm overwarning means river night, and City of levels have exceedSalmon Arm public ed bankfull or will works staff were busy exceed bankfull imimplementing the minently. city’s action plan. The station at “We’re actively Salmon Arm recordstarting to protect ined a lake level of frastructure. We’ve John Rosenberg 348.76 metres and contacted Federated CITY OF rising seven to eight Co-op and asked SALMON ARM centimetres per day. them to place a log “Shuswap Lake is boom at the end of expected to continue marine wharf and are rising through the next week and adjusting gangways, monitoring peak at approximately 20-year lake levels daily and preparing to levels,” reads the advisory. sandbag the Canoe Beach pump By Tuesday morning, the lake station.
This week The U16 boys Shuswap Selects advance to the provincials after a nail-biter in Penticton. See A17. Canada Day’s just around the corner and so is the annual Children’s Festival. See A21.
“There has been an erosion of the land by wave action and the boat launch dock is now four feet away from the land,” says Rosenberg. “The federal wharf is still accessible, but the parking lot is under water, and in another four inches it will be so deep you’ll need to wear your bathing suit.” Rosenberg adds that the notion of closing Canoe Beach is becoming more realistic. The CPR pedestrian tunnel is on the verge of being closed and a storm system that empties into the lake is close to surcharging, because it can’t manage the load. See Sandbags on page A2
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Sports............... A16-A20 Arts & Events ... A21-A23 Time Out................... A24 Vol. 105, No. 25, 48 pages