In the 1950s, the Penticton Creek was ‘channelized’ in response to flooding that devastated Penticton’s downtown. While the concrete channel helped with flood management, native fish species struggled with the loss of natural creek habitat and populations dropped. Over time, the concrete channel deteriorated.
In 2012, the community identified the restoration of the creek as a priority for the Downtown Plan, and in 2018, Council approved a plan to restore the creek in several phases over many years at an estimated cost of $30 million. Two previous projects addressed the restoration of the creek between Ellis Street and Nanaimo Avenue, just downstream of this new project, and three other projects have addressed some of the upstream sections of the creek. This latest section, spanning 320 metres, is also now complete.
Work on Latest Section Now Complete
Construction on the latest section of Penticton Creek began in 2022. Crews were limited to conduct work in the creek during a designated “fish window” each summer, which is the timeframe when native fish are least likely to be in the water and impacted by construction.
The work involved in-creek work, removing the concrete liner to replace with rocks, pebbles and boulders to support the banks and encourage natural fish spawning areas. In addition, landscaping and lighting upgrades have been made to surrounding walkways and greenspaces, also with substantial traffic safety improvements implemented throughout the neighbourhood. It's part of the City's ongoing efforts to naturalize and restore the creek to its natural habitat, also mitigating future flood risk. Read our latest announcement.
Funding
The value of the latest restoration work including design and construction was $4.5 million. Grant funding was provided by provincial and federal agencies through the Province’s Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, Structural Flood Mitigation stream ($750k) and the Investing In Canada Infrastructure Program, Adaption, Resilience, and Disaster Mitigation sub-stream ($3.75M).
What's Next?
The City intends to continue restoration further downstream from the latest work, focusing further efforts to remove the concrete channelized portion of the creek that runs between Ellis Street and Front Street. This section spans 350 metres through the downtown area and is a significant barrier to fish passage. Restoration design is planned to begin this year with construction phased beginning in 2026.