Nakusp boaters not happy with new ramp
by Claire Paradis - Arrow Lakes News
posted Sep 6, 2013 at 8:00 AM
Problems with the new wharf constructed at the Nakusp marina are coming to light, say a group of Nakusp boaters who met on the boat ramp on Monday, Aug. 26.
Concerns about access during lower water levels were at the top of a list of complaints, with some boaters forecasting the ramp could become unusable in the next few weeks.
When asked if BC Hydro had plans to address the issue, Hydro representative Mary Anne Coules said that the Crown corporation’s mandate was only to provide access during the recreational season. According to Coules, Hydro is required under its water license issued by the Comptroller of Water Rights only to provide summer recreational boat access.
“The current forecast indicates that the ramp should be usable for the duration of the recreational season (through to September 30),” Coules told the Arrow Lakes News in an email.
As many boaters in the area know, winter is a very popular time for fishing, with two major fishing derbies that draw hundreds of people and their tourist dollars to the area every year. With the old boat ramp gone, access will now be seasonally limited in a way it never was before.
When told this and then asked if Hydro planned to restore year-round access to the lake with further construction, Coules reiterated that Hydro’s mandate was only to provide summer access, but that Comlubia Power expects to resume construction and build a ramp “to the design standard agreed to by the community.” The completed ramp “will be usable to the same level of access as the previous ramp,” said Coules. Hydro is “hopeful” that this construction will occur in spring, “but there are limitations on predicting and committing to such operations due to uncertainties with inflows and Columbia River Treaty requirements,” Coules told the Arrow Lakes News.
From the Arrow Lakes News