As Kelowna residents rally to save Frazer Lake, the City says not much can be done

Residents in the Upper Mission simply want to see something done about Frazer Lake.

The small lake on the southern edge of Kelowna has essentially dried up and there’s concern over the fate of the ecosystem and, specifically, the western painted turtles that call it home. Western painted turtles are British Columbia's only native turtle species and are on the province's Blue List, which designates species at risk of decline.

“What was once a flourishing wetland and thriving ecosystem is now devastated, and so is the community,” explains Sam Foster, an Upper Mission resident and founder of the Wild Lifers. “A group of local residents are working to rescue and rehome the western painted turtles, have the lake refilled and urge the responsible parties to ensure this does not happen again.”

The responsible parties, they say, are the City of Kelowna and Emil Anderson Construction.

When reached for comment, a City spokesperson provided a detailed written statement that provided some “important history” to understand why Frazer Lake has met its recent fate.

“Many decades ago the South Okanagan Mission Irrigation District (SOMID) built the Frazer Lake dam and operated the lake as an irrigation reservoir,” the City explained. “The lake was filled by wells located near Barnaby and Lakeshore and water from the lake was used for irrigation. Until 2016 the lake, and its water levels, were not natural.”

Things changed in 2016 when SOMID’s pumps failed, which marked the end of unnatural filling of the reservoir. According to the City, Frazer Lake’s water levels have been based on natural inflows, outflows and evaporation since then.

“While the last four years have been abnormally dry overall, there was also little low elevation snow this past winter, which feeds the spring that feeds Frazer Lake,” the statement said. “That spring is no longer flowing. The summers have also been abnormally hot, contributing to excess evaporation.”

While the City says it is “committed to protecting” natural spaces like Frazer Lake, it notes that small wetlands and natural ponds experience “cycles of wet and dry conditions.” Kelowna has hired a biologist to assess the lake, its natural habitat and conditions, but the City says not much can be done given the current circumstances.

“Other than filling the lake with drinking water there is no easy way to refill Frazer Lake,” the statement added. “The natural condition of this lake, now that it is no longer being filled artificially, may be one that occasionally dries up.”

The Foster-led Wild Lifers group and the area residents fighting to save Frazer Lake don’t buy the climate and drought excuse. They allege that Kelowna made poor decisions around the new $760,000 Frazer Lake dam that was built in 2022.

According to the Wild Lifers website, the City built a dam that only holds 10,000m³ of water despite an ecological impact assessment that indicated more was needed. It outlined that the normal operating level of the lake needed to maintain the ecosystem was 21,500m³ and the lake’s maximum capacity was 65,000m³.

“The City proceeded to knowingly build a dam that could hold less than half the water required to maintain the ecosystem,” the Wild Lifers website says. “The dam they built did not allow the water level to remain high enough to be resilient to high temperatures, therefore succumbing to drought.”

Kelowna chose to build a new dam at the site after the Province deemed the old one was no longer safe, ordering that it be decommissioned or reconstructed. The City picked the latter option, using BC grant funding to reconstruct the dam.

“The reconstructed dam addressed excess seepage issues and is built to ensure safety of the residential development downslope,” the City statement said.

While local residents are unhappy with how the City has handled the Frazer Lake situation in recent years, they’re suspicious of Emil Anderson Construction’s motives as well. The large developer owns the land and is building beside the lake, a project that drew vocal opposition from residents when it went before council in 2023.

The Wild Lifers website hints that an empty Frazer Lake may be more beneficial to Emil Anderson Construction than a full, thriving lake and ecosystem, but there’s no evidence provided to back that speculative claim.

“If the habitat is functional, it is very difficult to obtain permits to develop wetland that is home to blue-listed threatened species such as western painted turtles,” the Wild Lifers website claims. “If the habitat is not functional, due to the water having been allowed to evaporate because of an undersized dam that could not support the ecosystem, would that change things?”

KelownaNow reached out to Emil Anderson Construction for comment, but has not received a response.

While the City says it has hired a biologist to assess the lake, Upper Mission residents are leading their own charge. The Wild Lifers has information on several ways people can get involved, from turtle rescue to writing elected officials to volunteering to assist with legal recommendations, ecological assessment and land violation assessment, project management or videography.

Click here to learn more about the Wild Lifers and their efforts at Frazer Lake, which includes an online petition created in late September.