Thanks to one eagle-eyed resident, Taoyuan Will not be floated after a surprise Vandalism Found at nearby municipal dam.
The town announced Tuesday that a manual valve used to control the water level of nearby Silver Lake was intentionally damaged sometime last month.
The lake is located approximately 15 km above Peachland and is the source of Silver Creek, which flows into Trepanier Creek and ultimately into Okanagan Lake.
Last Friday, a cabin owner in the area noticed the lake level seemed low and investigated the dam.
The cabin owner found that the chain and valve wheel were damaged, causing the lake level to drop by 18 inches, according to the Taoyuan District Government.
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He closed the valve and then contacted town staff, who came to investigate and re-secured the valve.
“Had the vandalism not been discovered at the time, the lake level would have dropped further,” the district told Global News.
“However, due to the lake's natural underwater topography, the water will not completely dry up.”
The district said a natural underwater dam at the entrance to the waterway will eventually stop the flow, but the water level will drop again by about 24 inches.
“At that point, water will be retained within the lake's main basin and no water will flow from the valve at the outlet,” the department said.
The dam is located on the southeast side of Silver Lake. It is about 6 meters high and 30 meters wide. It was built in 1920 and rebuilt in the fall of 1980.
The lake serves as an emergency storage facility for the Trepanier water supply system.
The district said it is considering installing a security camera and asked anyone with information about the vandalism to email sgrundy@peachland.ca.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
