West 琉璃神社 Council approved spending $2.5 million to fix water quality problems in the Rose Valley Reservoir (RVR).

A vote to give a $50 credit to the 8,500 customers of the Rose Valley Water System failed. The credit would have refunded them for water used to flush the system. The credit amounted to approximately $425,000. Both the $2.5 million and the rebate would have come from the Rose Valley Water Reserve.

Council unanimously supported spending $2.5 million. However, the vote on the credit was tied, which meant it failed under local government rules. Councillors Rick de Jong, Carol Zannon, and Garrett Millsap opposed the credit. Councillor Tasha Da Silva missed the meeting on Tuesday, November 26.

De Jong said he wasn鈥檛 against refunds but wanted to seek government grants instead. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a true way to offset these costs for local residents,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ather than taking it from their pocket, giving it back now, and then taking it from their pocket again later.鈥�

Chief Financial Officer Warren Everton said the Rose Valley Water Reserve has enough funds. 鈥淲e can easily handle this expenditure,鈥� he told the council.

De Jong said spending the $2.5 million was the right decision for public safety. Mayor Gord Milsom agreed but supported the rebate as well. 鈥淚 see no reason why it can鈥檛 be done,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t cost them money to help us do the job in flushing out those systems, so I鈥檓 in favour of it.鈥�

The $2.5 million will be spent on adding potassium permanganate, an oxidizing agent, to the water after it is drawn from the reservoir.  This will allow the manganese to oxidize while the water is travelling to the treatment plant where it can be removed.

Council also heard about ongoing water quality problems in RVR. Heather Larrat, from Larrat Aquatic Consulting, explained the reservoir has a high risk of manganese levels exceeding acceptable limits every summer.

鈥淲hen you have a warm water layer on top and a deep water layer underneath, the deep water can鈥檛 access the atmosphere,鈥� Larrat said. 鈥淒ecomposition breaks down and consumes oxygen, which can鈥檛 get replenished.鈥�

She said can also rise in March due to long ice cover, algae, and bacteria. A city report noted growing problems in the reservoir, including algae, turbidity, iron-related bacteria, and manganese. These caused brown, foul-smelling water for customers in recent months. The Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant tried several fixes with mixed results.

Larrat also spoke about damage to the watershed from the McDougall Creek wildfire.

鈥淚t will take years to recover,鈥� she said. 鈥淟iterally, it鈥檚 a worst-case scenario. The water treatment plant was incredibly timed -- without it, the community would have been exposed to the full force of this disaster.鈥�

She urged the council to repair the reservoir鈥檚 aeration system, which helps reduce manganese levels. However, she cautioned that aeration alone might not fully solve the problem. 鈥淣o one can guarantee that restoring aeration will solve 100 percent of the manganese problem,鈥� she said.

Larrat recommended correcting the aeration issues by the summer 2025. This would cut treatment costs and reduce the length and intensity of manganese spikes. She also warned that a heavy snowpack this winter could worsen spring runoff from burned areas around the watershed.

鈥淲e will be in uncharted territory once again,鈥� she said.

Larrat estimated it would take five years to recover from the wildfire damage. 鈥淚t will still affect water quality but not as badly as we鈥檙e experiencing now.鈥�

City staff promised to closely monitor manganese levels, especially in spring and summer.