Flooding at the Waterscapes Community Herons 2 apartments in Kelowna is expected to have people out of their homes for the holidays.
Resident Andrew Ballance said he returned home around 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, to find water on the floor near the elevator. He called security and went up to his apartment only to have to evacuate just half an hour later.
He said there was water on every floor, with about three inches sitting on the main floor and water pouring into the parking garage.
An email to Waterscape residents said it could be months before they can move back in.
“They had the water shut off that afternoon,” Ballance said about the day before the flooding. “It was planned work, they had a notice up and everything and said it would be about four hours we’d be without water. So, they did work on the water system that day and then we had the flooding that night.”
He noted that it’s just speculation, the two are connected.
Ballance was escorted back into his apartment shortly after the flooding happened to grab necessities. He said the water hadn’t made its way into his unit, but he picked items up off the floor before leaving just in case.
Emergency services were quickly on the scene to support residents in finding temporary accommodations, putting people up for two nights at the Sandman Hotel. But now Ballance is left to figure it out for himself.
“I’ve been talking to my landlord and he was basically like, ‘You might as well move your stuff out at this point’.”
Not wanting to pay rent for a place he can’t be in and having no indication when he might be able to return, that’s exactly what Ballance is going to do.
Ballance plans to pack up his things and head to his parents in Cranbrook for the holidays while he figures out where to live. He commented that he would be OK, but lots of families, kids, students, and pets also lived at Waterscapes and may not have a place to stay.
Capital News has reached out to Waterscapes for comment.
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