The FAA recently approved the redesignation of a seaplane base on Osoyoos Lake in Oroville, Washington.
According to officials with the Washington State Department of Transportation Aviation, the Dorothy Scott International Seaplane Base will “reboot” one that was in the same area many years ago but disappeared.
The Oroville Planning Commission reached out to WSDOT Aviation in early 2023 for help concerning a historical seaplane base on Osoyoos Lake. The commission was unsure why the seaplane base was no longer mapped for pilots to see. They found a location designated as a seaplane anchorage on the west side of the lake, yet no seaplane base was shown on current aviation charts.
They also found out that customs was occasionally meeting seaplanes arriving from Canada near the noted anchorage site.
Additional research showed an old aviation sectional chart from the 1960s that showed a designated and mapped seaplane base on the lake and an “airport of entry” for arrivals from Canada.
The Oroville Planning Commission and WSDOT Aviation completed all of the necessary paperwork and helped designate the water landing area, also known as a water runway, state aviation officials reported.
The seaplane base should be official and charted by the end of this year, officials added.
This is wonderful! This seaplane facility can be added to the other landing areas in Washington State that are part of the West Coast General Aviation Response Plan (WCGARP) that is in development to provide general aviation relief flights to communities that will suffer damage and be cut off from road access following the expected Cascadia Subduction Zone quake and tsunami.
It would be great if more communities realized how valuable their airports and landing facilities are!
Cheers,
Rol Murrow
EVAC – Emergency Volunteer Air Corps
ACA – Air Care Alliance