Okanagan Lake has dropped more than 10 centimetres from its peak in mid-June and with the hot weather, more and more of the beach is exposed every day, and the City of Penticton is hoping to get more of the city’s beaches clear of debris in time for Canada’s 150th birthday.
Cleaning up the debris driven onto Penticton beaches during over the last month of high water is going to take some time.
In case you missed out on the first community cleanup at Marina Beach, a second event will take place at Okanagan Beach today (June 29) from 10 a.m. to noon. Any members of the public who would like to come out for a couple of hours and assist city crews in cleaning debris left on the beach from the recent high water are welcome to attend.
“There were many offers of assistance and support during the high water crisis and now that we can all breathe a little sigh of relief, we want to give everyone a few opportunities to give back,” said Mayor Andrew Jakubeit. “We had a great turnout for the first cleanup event last week and we heard from the community that there was still a lot of interest so with the Canada Day weekend on the way and the beach season kicking off, the timing is perfect.”
City staff will be on the walkway at the corner of Lakeshore Drive and Power Street from 9:45 a.m. to meet with volunteers and coordinate the efforts. All participants should bring leather work gloves, wear closed-toe shoes (no sandals or flip flops allowed) for personal protection and are asked to bring a rake, shovel and a wheelbarrow if they have one. The public is reminded to not disturb sandbags as these will remain in place to protect infrastructure for a few more weeks.