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Shaun Reimer manages the controls at the dam separating Okanagan Lake and Okanagan River.
Whether we have flooding or drought conditions, Reimer has to decide how much water needs to keep flowing out of Okanagan Lake.
And right now the gate is holding back more than it’s letting through.
“We’re in holdback mode,” said Reimer.
“We have very modest outflows from Okanagan Lake right now.”
That’s because there is less than an average snowpack in the mountains that feed into the lake this year.
But at 80% of normal, according to the latest measurements, the situation is not critical.
Photo Credit: NowMedia
"There are some places in the province that are in poorer condition than we are,” said Reimer.
But if the amount of precipitation continues to fall short, Reimer could be forced to further reduce the flows into the Penticton River Channel.
And that could lead to challenges downstream.
“You could see problems for irrigators," said Reimer, "particularly the ones who take their water directly out of the Okanagan River.”
Photo Credit: NowMedia
It could also hurt migrating salmon.
But in the meantime, Reimer is more worried about how recent record-setting temperatures have led to an early melt that will affect tributaries all around the region.
“The tributaries that we see that people rely on for a lot of their irrigation, or domestic water, or things like that," he explained.
"They could be in bigger trouble.”
Photo Credit: NowMedia
As the season unfolds, Reimer will continue to recalculate, all the while knowing that the people who are impacted by his decisions will be ready to second-guess every move he makes.
In fact, he second-guesses himself sometimes.
“Who doesn’t?” he said.
Photo Credit: Nowmedia
But in the year since we last spoke with Reimer, he hasn’t had a lot of complaints.
That's how it usually is when it's dry.
It's when there's too much water that the complaints come flooding in.
If he could have his wish, Reimer would like to see a year that's average.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“Normal, average. If there is such a thing anymore,” he said.
Unfortunately, normal years seem to have become more unusual than ever.
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