North Shuswap residents keeping an eye on lake level

May 26, 2017 | 5:28 PM

SCOTCH CREEK, BC — As summer approaches and the weather continues to heat up, the possibility of flooding remains a possibility for many residents who live near the water. For residents in the North Shuswap, they only need to look back to 2012 to remember the most recent high water event. Scotch Creek residents are keeping a close eye on the water level in Shuswap Lake, and hoping for cooperation from Mother Nature.

Larry Morgan remembers the last time the water in Shuswap Lake was high enough to threaten his lakefront home

In 2012, “it peaked around the 3rd week in June that year,” Morgan remembers.

With close to a month before the water level is expected to peak, there’s still a chance flooding could occur, like it did in 2012. Residents need only look to the Okanagan to see what happens when more water is coming into a lake than is flowing out.

“With Okanagan Lake, it’s unusual for them to see that kind of a rise in the level of the lake, over there,” Morgan explains. “Here it’s something we’re used to with freshet.”

Greg Settle helps run Scotch Creek Cottages not far up the shoreline from Morgan’s property. He says 2012 was the perfect combination of warm weather and precipitation, which led to the lake encroaching onto the property at the resort.

“We had water on the grounds, but not up around our cottages,” Settle remembers. “It was a big inconvenience, but not damaging.”

In preparation for the lake level rising, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District is keeping a close eye on the rivers and streams feeding into the lake

“The Shuswap Emergency Program is monitoring the lake levels,” program Information Officer Ryan Nitchie explained in a phone interview this afternoon. “We receive daily updates from the River Forecast Centre.”

The CSRD has made sandbagging supplies available to residents at certain locations throughout the region.

“We’ve place sandbags strategically throughout the region, to deal with the eventuality of some high water on Shuswap Lake,” Nitchie says. “Residents are encouraged to go to our website at www.csrd.bc.ca in order to find out more information on where that sand and sandbags are located.”

For Larry Morgan, it’s a case of waiting to see what kind of weather the next few weeks brings

“Where we go from here is a function of the weather,” he says. “We had a lot of rain in 20123, so that really added to lake level at that time. At this time, the forecast for the next two weeks is for sunny weather. Of course, that can change.”