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Owner using pumps to keep water at bay

A house owner on Lake Avenue is using four pumps to put water back into Mill Creek
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Owner Henryk Wanczyk surveys his flooded home on Lake Avenue. He uses multiple pumps to keep Mill Creek at bay. - Credit: Carli Berry/Capital News

As Mill Creek rises, water pours into Henryk Wanczyk’s home.

The Manitoba resident purchased the property on Lake Avenue in Kelowna a year ago, and said although he didn’t know the water level would reach this high, he bought flooding insurance.

He plans to build up the flooded parts of his house to higher ground to prevent flooding in the future, but for now, water runs through his crawl space.

“I pump all the time,” he said.

He has four pumps working to pump the water back into the creek.

“But what can I do now?” he said. “Isn’t it a disaster, the beach and everything,” he indicated to the Lake Avenue beach access point, which is currently closed off.

Despite the water running into his basement, he said it’s only concrete that’s being affected.

The house is built on the same level as the creek and flooding is common.