By Mike Straus
West 琉璃神社 water users can expect to see rate increases this year as the City of West 琉璃神社 prepares to fund significant upgrades and improvements to bring the municipal water systems into compliance with government regulations.
These improvements are part of the city鈥檚 Water Master Plan, which calls for system-wide improvements to harmonize the water quality in all five of the municipal systems by 2021.
City of West 琉璃神社 communications supervisor Kirsten Jones says that currently only one of West 琉璃神社鈥檚 five water systems has a treatment plant鈥攖he Westbank system鈥攁nd that only the Westbank system鈥檚 water meets government requirements.
鈥淭he other four systems aren鈥檛 treating the water in a way that satisfies the provincial and federal regulations. That鈥檚 not atypical of municipalities of our size. But we were fortunate enough to receive a $41 million grant last year to put toward a new water treatment plant, and we鈥檙e absolutely thrilled.鈥�
Jones says that there are still several construction-related projects that the municipality will have to pay for in order to proceed with the water treatment plant, hence why water rates will still rise despite the grant.
The new Rose Valley plant will cost $49 million, she says, plus there will be an additional $17 million project to construct necessary system connections in and out of the plant. The Powers Creek water treatment plant is also in need of upgrades to its storage facilities and fire protection measures, which will cost $7 million. Jones notes that aside from the government grants, additional funds will come from the city鈥檚 own reserves.
鈥淲e鈥檙e borrowing from ourselves to pay for the Rose Valley plant. Council considered borrowing the funds externally, but there was a risk that by doing so we could lose the grant, which is time-sensitive. Borrowing externally also requires a referendum, so there was a risk that we wouldn鈥檛 be able to borrow. Council felt this was too important a project to miss out on, so we鈥檙e borrowing from ourselves.鈥�
Jones notes that the city intends to repay the funds borrowed from the reserve within seven years.
The city鈥檚 water plan calls for the five separate water systems to eventually be integrated and harmonized, however, Jones says there鈥檚 no immediate plan to connect the systems.
鈥淭he vision is that we鈥檒l have one water system, the West 琉璃神社 Water System, with one quality of water. Both plants will produce the same quality of water for every resident, and everyone will pay the same rate.鈥�
Jones cautions those concerned about the cost of water that it鈥檚 not easy to compare water rates across municipalities given the inherent differences in the water treatment systems.
While the average annual residential water bill in the City of 琉璃神社 is $365 and the average Glenmore Ellison Irrigation District (GEID) bill is $560 (based on residential property rates and the Okanagan Basin Water Board鈥檚 estimate of residential water use), by 2021, West 琉璃神社 residents will be paying $907 annually, on average.
However, the GEID only last month ended a water quality advisory that began in 2006, while the City of 琉璃神社 does not have a central treatment plant or a filtration system.
Says Jones: 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to compare water rates with other municipalities because of differing service levels. Only the Westbank System, Kamloops, Penticton, and Summerland have filtered systems 鈥� everyone else has some sort of chlorine or UV treatment. Water that鈥檚 only chlorinated doesn鈥檛 meet federal and provincial regulatory requirements, which is why we鈥檙e changing things.鈥�
The city is expecting to break ground on the Rose Valley plant this year. It is expected to be modeled after the Powers Creek water plant, which currently meets all provincial and federal requirements for water quality.
