BC Hydro invited delegates from Castlegar and Area J to celebrate the completion of a new boat ramp on Friday.
Mayor Lawrence Chernoff and Rick Smith, director of Area J, joined representatives from BC Hydro and Columbia Power to celebrate a new boat ramp at Anderson Point, located just north of Deer Park.
The ramp features “a concrete ramp, a floating walkway, a floating log breakwater to protect from wind and waves, turnarounds at the top of the ramp and mid-ramp, a paved upper parking and small gravel lower parking area and toilet facilities.”
The boat ramp is one of eight ramps meant to improve boater access to Arrow Lakes Reservoir. BC Hydro was required to build the boat ramps as part of its water license for the reservoir and building the boat ramps was also recommended under the Columbia River Water Use Plan.
“That plan was put together by a group of stakeholders with BC Hydro and they recommended boat ramps to improve recreation on Arrow Lakes Reservoir,” explained Mary Anne Coules, stakeholder engagement advisor at BC Hydro.
Smith believes the ramp will help make water activities more available for those living in the area.
“It opens up a lot of opportunities in that it’s putting [a ramp] further up the lake to launch a boat. Fishing, water skiing — all the water activities are going to be a little more available,” he said. “I think anytime we have the opportunity to open up more opportunities to recreate, it’s just a very positive thing.”
Coules said BC Hydro is grateful to the community for its involvement in the project.
“I started consultation on this project when I started here in this role in 2010 and we’ve always had great turnouts at these meetings. Folks have been very gracious with their time and giving us feedback, and we really appreciate that,” she said.
The lowest point of the Anderson Point boat ramp has an elevation of 425 m, so a boat that’s 9.3 m long, 3.1 m wide and four tonnes in weight, with a maximum draft (amount below waterline) of one meter, could be launched at a minimum water level of 426 m. To check the water level visit bchydro.com/energy-in-bc/our_system/transmission_reservoir_data/hydrometric_data/columbia.html.
