Here's what a local lake looks like without water, as crews replace an outlet pipe near Summerland

Ever wondered what a local lake would look like without water? That's the situation at Isintok Lake in the hills above Summerland, B.C., as crews replace an outlet pipe. 

The District of Summerland, just north of Penticton, emptied the lake, which serves as one of many reservoirs for the town, to fix a century-old pipe in the Isintok Dam.

"After years of doing video inspections in the outlet pipes of our dam, we did discover that there was significant leakage in the pipe in Isintok that was near 100 years old," Devon van der Meulen, water utilities manager at Summerland, told CBC's Daybreak South on Tuesday. 

"After discussions of many options, the decision by engineers, senior staff and council was that it was safest and would create a more robust dam and infrastructure if we were to replace the pipe." 

Van der Meulen said the dam drained the equivalent of five million bathtubs' worth of water over the course of a month and a half in anticipation of construction that started in August. 

What happened to the fish?

The water was drained very slowly to preserve as many fish as possible. 

"In reviewing the speed at which [the water] was drawn down, [we] continued viewing for stranded fish and by the time we were done, it appeared that it had drained slow enough that there was no stranding of fish," Van der Meulen said.

"Our environmental consultant did find approximately 700 fish that were located just downstream of the dam and they were then relocated further downstream. So as far as damage, there was no mortality."

Environmental consultants are continuing to closely monitor the water to ensure the fish survive through the winter months. 

When will activities by the lake restart?

Van der Meulen said the bottom of the lake is pretty boggy and not many have ventured out there. But the hope is that the lake will replenish by next year and regular activities can resume. 

"From what we've recorded, the water coming into the reservoir is at least twice the capacity of the stored water. So we anticipate, on a regular year, for it to fill very easily. And things will continue on as usual next year."