Osoyoos Lake may go as much as four feet higher than normal 913 foot elevation.

OROVILLE –  “The water is higher and rising more…” The lake at 915.12. How much higher will it go? Oh, to be able to tell the future…  I think we can expect it to go to 916ft at least, possibly 916.50 or to 917 ft. But that is just a guess, really.

The Okanogan River is above flood stage now near Tonasket at 17.97. And the predictions of 19 to 20ft are looking more real at this point. The highest in 44yrs.

Last year the Smilkameen at Nighthawk got to 19,500cfs (cubic feet per second) on May 24th. Right now the Smilkameen is flowing at 27,000cfs and should surely get to the 28,000cfs or above by Friday night. The water is back flowing over top of the weir at Zosel Dam. The campground at Veterans Memorial Park has been closed and you can see water streaming into the Park from South to North.

The Canadians have decreased the amount of the water they are releasing from Okanagan Lake. However, there has been significant rainfall from Penticton to Osoyoos that will be coming down stream to Osoyoos.

This could have significant impact on Lake Osoyoos. Be ready to protect your property. The lake level will be higher this year than last year.

The County Emergency Management Services will be delivering sand and bags with the next couple of hours. This will be just behind the old Depot by the entrance to the city’s boneyard.

Now is the time to be proactive, protect you property and buildings.

Our neighbors to the North of the Border are telling their lakeshore owners that they should not wait but be proactive now. Good advice for us.

See the previous message below about Sandbags:

Lake Osoyoos Association May 9th , 2018

Here are some general rules of thumb for sandbagging:

• • Sand is best, but you can fill sandbags with available dirt.
• • Sandbags should be filled no more than 2/3 full, and should be dropped into position. That allows the sand or dirt to shift so that the bag can seal against adjacent sandbags. If the bag is too full, it doesn’t work well.
• • One layer of sandbags protects to a height of no more than six inches, so a wall of sandbags two high that is properly laid will protect no more than one foot in height.
• • A single sandbag, filled 2/3 full, will be approximately one foot from end to end.

To protect an area 25 feet long to a depth of one foot, you would need approximately 50 to 75 sandbags.

Sandbagging does require some skill. To learn more, look at a pamphlet found here: http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/Portals/27/docs/emergency/ NWD_Sandbag_Pamphlet.pdf