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10
Jul
2017
My lawn is going brown.
Just a short while ago, I was having trouble keeping up with its growth. Abundant rain so nourished the grass that my 17 horsepower ride-on mower bogged down in places. I was glad I wasn’t depending on human muscle power.
Of course, that same rain had other consequences. Between rain and snow melt, Okanagan Lake rose to flood levels, and beyond.
At its highest, Okanagan Lake rose to 343.25 metres above sea level. The lake’s normal high level, called “full pool,” is considered to be 342.5 metres above sea level. The highest previous level was 343 metres, back in 1948, a year that saw most of the Fraser Valley underwater because of flooding.
It would seem to me that I would be helping to alleviate the flooding crisis by irrigating my parched lawn 24 hours a day. I’d be taking water out of the lake, wouldn’t I? I’d be putting that water to good use, wouldn’t I?
Categories: Sharp Edges
Tags: Okanagan Lake, flooding, paradox