Who is the moron who didn't see this coming?

[Toocat]

I don't care what the guy who runs the water management says, a moron could see by the end of march they needed to open the gates in Penticton.If not earlier! His head needs to roll! He is going to be sued by a lot of people as well as the the branches of government who let this incompetent person who has no clue about the Okanagan be in charge!!! Where is he from. Lower Slabovia or the Okanagan? What an Idiot!!!

[ferri]

Calls for lake level review

https://www.castanet.net/news/Penticton ... vel-review

[dirtybiker]

Slow down and think about it a bit, it's not just a matter of letting it go.
there is a lot to consider.
Weather anomalies, environmental disruption, fisheries, down stream considerations, are but a few.

Several years ago it was the opposite issue. Levels were low and there was plenty
more lakefront exposed land.

These are highly educated people playing a speculators game.

It is a crap shoot, these guys are good, they get it right way more than they get it wrong.

Joe Public never notices 'right', only 'wrong'

It is after all, quite subjective.

[lightspeed]

Slow down and think about it a bit, it's not just a matter of letting it go.
there is a lot to consider.
Weather anomalies, environmental disruption, fisheries, down stream considerations, are but a few.

Several years ago it was the opposite issue. Levels were low and there was plenty
more lakefront exposed land.

These are highly educated people playing a speculators game.

It is a crap shoot, these guys are good, they get it right way more than they get it wrong.

Joe Public never notices 'right', only 'wrong'

It is after all, quite subjective.

One would think it would be more of a science than that.

[dirtybiker]

One would think it would be more of a science than that.

Oh, you mean right up there with a well educated and paid weather forecaster?

Ya, they nail it 100%

[Graham Adder]

I don't know the gate keeper, nor the gate keepers son
But I'll not kick the gate keeper as we've only got one.

This guy is not the moron here. I'll save commonsense to dictate who the moron really is.

The gate keeper in this case does the very best he can with the info and stats he has to work from.
If you don't understand what prompted the decisions he has made, then think about the first bit of this line.
You don't understand. That's nothing to be ashamed of or fearful of, so needs no fear or anger based responses.

I can't imagine the stresses one must face knowing they are the one that turns the screw valve responsible for maintaining a water system in a semi arid valley that relies on water for ALLLLLL of the local industries that support every community in that valley.

That's HUGE responsibility, and even though this unusual year has fetched some unusual circumstances for us to deal with, pointing a finger at the one person carrying the weight of that region on their shoulders points to a weakness I'd rather not be a part of or play in.

HUGE kudos to the Gate Keeper, Shaun Reimer for doing a fantastic job. I do not think for a moment this man would have made the decisions months ago that he did had he known what an unusual spring we were facing.

Weather is far from a perfect science. This we all know.
A slight variance of weather patterns in mountainous terrain creates huge changes in weather. This we know.
For long range forecasting, statistics gathered from similar years' weather data is the only means by which a long range forecast can be released. It's purely speculation based on data.

Shaun Reimer takes his experience, coupled with the stat's data he receives and makes his decisions based on that info. It seems obvious to me that he's done and is doing a great job. This was an extraordinary year. That's it. That's all.
Quit pointing your finger, it stinks like

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

I for one am tired of all the people truing to place blame.
And some of those pointing fingers, I got to wonder if they helped anyone.
Like the fire in 03, it could have played out different, but then and now.. We are in trouble and there is no easy fix. So maybe instead of blaming, try helping.
You can be part of our community, or you can be a negative influence dragging everyone down.

The lake is over full, we are flooded..... And the could have..would have..should have, train has left the station.

[bob vernon]

Yeah. why didn't this guy in charge of the gates just come on here and create a thread asking if he should open the gates to the max or just kinda let the water leak out slowly? The experts on this thread could have told him. Oh, sure, there would be some who would want to hold onto the water cuz their illegal docks need the water most years, but he should have consulted the experts.

[the truth]

I don't care what the guy who runs the water management says, a moron could see by the end of march they needed to open the gates in Penticton.If not earlier! His head needs to roll! He is going to be sued by a lot of people as well as the the branches of government who let this incompetent person who has no clue about the Okanagan be in charge!!! Where is he from. Lower Slabovia or the Okanagan? What an Idiot!!!

he is just another over paid over educated pencil pusher afraid to make a call, i for one agree with you

[TylerM4]

So let's look at it this way.

Snowpack 120% of normal at the end of the day.

Amount of precipitation this spring was slightly above normal. I haven't been able to find numbers, but about 110% of average. It's low enough that there aren't many claims of "significantly wetter than average" spring. Would love if someone could point me to reliable info.

I'm going to wait for more info before I start blaming anyone. But the raw numbers don't seem add up to what has turned out to be unprecedented flooding.


My best guess: The lake was also higher than normal at the beginning of the season (mountain lakes definitely were). It was a combination of the 3 things (high lake to start with, high snowpack, and slightly above average precipitation). THe snowpack and high starting lake level were the biggest influencing factors. My concern is that these weren't surprises. We measure snowpack and lake level. My best guess is that someone dropped the ball.

[ricardodw]

It is the government Scientists who are letting us down.

If the best information is that snowpack was 120% of normal and march rainfall was 110% of normal then we are not having a flood at all. We need to start conserving water as they have told us for the last 10 summers.

I do not believe that the snowpack was 120% of normal.... There was far more snow than normal in the area and a lot less melting in the winter.

It appears that now someone has actually gone and measured the snow pack and has a handle on how it is melting and is saying that the flooding will peak

I think that with the cult of Climate change and disappearing ice caps and milder dryer winters encourages publicly funded scientists to find results that agree with the Cults expectations. This cold snow-filled winter is at odds with the trend that the carbon taxing globalists are selling.

100% of Climate scientists agree that they should be better funded and get paid more. That is settled science!!

[Fancy]

I don't care what the guy who runs the water management says, a moron could see by the end of march they needed to open the gates in Penticton.If not earlier! His head needs to roll! He is going to be sued by a lot of people as well as the the branches of government who let this incompetent person who has no clue about the Okanagan be in charge!!! Where is he from. Lower Slabovia or the Okanagan? What an Idiot!!!

Pray tell, what was the information he had at the time? Please explain what you would have done and why.

[Daryll123]

"He added given the information he had, he wouldn't have done anything differently."

This is the problem, this fellow doesn't believe it is his job (rightly or wrongly) to prevent flooding in Kelowna. When the snow pack reached 150% of normal in April the gates should not have been opened a little, they should have been opened wide open and left wide open until the threat of flooding was eliminated. To this day, the gates have only been wide open on about 4 days all year despite flooding here. Flooding is just not a priority for this fellow. All the hardship caused, costs involved, and he would do the same thing next year. Please somebody, with some common sense, change the system. Your computer model doesn't work to prevent flooding! This has been pointed out to these people before. The BC Ministry of Environment is out of control, somebody needs to inject some reality into their closeted world. Come to Green Bay and see the damage and the anxiety of the sleepless nights tending to pumps. We deserve better. The system is broken and nobody seems to think it is their job to fix it.

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

Keep in mind the person that posted this has made one post ..just to anonymously slam a person.
For whatever reason.

[Graham Adder]

Keep in mind the person that posted this has made one post ..just to anonymously slam a person.
For whatever reason.

Absolutely 60.
I saw this post in the same light, and immediately wondered if this was actually posted by Daryll, or the other brother Daryll.

Daryll, I surely hope you never get a job with the level of responsibility that this Gatekeeper has.
According to your insinuation, you'd base next years decision on this year's example, rather than a gathering of statistical data that shows this year to be an anomaly.
That means it's an unusual year Daryll.
That equates to the statistical data the Gatekeeper relies on being useless on account of the unforeseeable circumstances that would eventually show this to be that anomaly mentioned earlier.
It's because of the years of experience and the professionalism this Gatekeeper carries that he can say without hesitation that given the same set of data reports to base his decision on, he'd do the same again.
I'm thankful for that, as it's clear to me that the chances are stacked very much in favor of next year unfolding closer to what statistical analysis dictates.