Province did all it could in face of 2017 Okanagan flood: report

An independent report has deemed there was nothing more the provincial government could have done to minimize the devastating impact of 2017’s historic flooding season.

Properties were damaged and hundreds of residents were displaced from numerous communities in the BC interior.

“They couldn’t have predicted the high inflows that occurred in the spring, in May we saw the highest inflow ever on record to Kalamalka Lake and Okanagan Lake and that was not predicted, it could not be predicted,” Brian Guy, who authored the report on behalf of Associated Environmental Consultants Inc., said.

READ MORE: West Kelowna spends millions on flood repairs

Guy, a retired geoscientist, said at this time last year the snowpack pointed to a normal or below-normal run-off year but an unusually wet spring changed everything.

“They couldn’t release any more water, they would be creating tremendous flooding and erosion along those [outflow] channels,” Guy said.

Watch Below: Take a look back at our extensive coverage of the 2017 flood.

A look back at a rising Okanagan Lake during the unprecedented flooding event of 2017

03:32

A look back at a rising Okanagan Lake during the unprecedented flooding event of 2017

01:58

Head of the Lake flooding evacuees still can’t go home

02:06

Some Kelowna residents feel the worst of the flooding is over

02:13

‘I’ll fight to the end’: OKIB property owners continue to battle flooding

02:48

Flooding issues lead to Okanagan dam questions

02:43

The groundwater flooding threat may impact thousands of Kelowna homes

01:46

Flooding imminent at Penticton Yacht Club

02:00

Penticton flooding update

01:58

Is the City of Vernon doing enough to protect its own property from flooding?

02:14

Coldstream residents brace for further flooding

02:22

Some tourists re-thinking their plans in the Okanagan because of flooding

01:30

Rising waters in Okanagan Lake spark flooding fears

02:00

Flooding experience a different story in Vernon and Lumby

02:07

Kelowna residents prepare for another round of flooding, potentially far worse than what they saw last week

01:47

Okanagan threatened with ‘perfect storm’ flooding

01:55

Imminent threat of more flooding in Okanagan, mass evacuations possible

While Guy said the government did all it could with the information and tools it had at the time, he does make recommendations to be better equipped next time around.

READ MORE: Okanagan Lake wasn’t lowered sooner to protect fish stock

The report has 65 recommendations: everything form staffing levels and experience to better streamflow forecasting models, which experts say are needed because of the changing climate.

“The province really has to double down on its efforts to keep pace with climate change and really focus on improving the data networks that they use to collect information [about] stream flows and snow and weather,” Guy said.

“They have to be using the latest modelling techniques and the latest computer processes to improve these models.”

Watch Below: The BC River Forecast Centre warns the snowpack in the Okanagan and Similkameen backcountry is very high.

But Guy concedes even the best models won’t work in an extreme year like 2017.

This year on March 1 the Okanagan snow pack was 141 per cent of what’s normal for this time of year.

The larger than usual snowpack has officials with the River Forecast Centre predicting an “increased seasonal risk of flooding.”