WEST KELOWNA – A West Kelowna couple is suing the district over major flooding problems they say have made their home a write off. Ryan Gurney and his wife have racked up enormous bills and they claim it’s the district’s fault.
“I know I’ve spent between $50,000 and $60,000 so far in the last probably 16 months trying to fix the problem myself and then there’s a lot more to go,” says Gurney, who has two young children. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg unfortunately.”
Gurney says a water main managed by the municipality caused the many floods that have made their home a write-off.
The district had until early last week to respond to the lawsuit, but the municipality filed for a 30 day extension. While the waiting game continues, Gurney says he’s hopeful for a resolution.
“I know my lawyer has been in contact with their lawyer so there’s been a lot of dialogue happening back and fourth so that just means things are happening,” says Gurney. “I don’t know if they’re good or bad things but they’re happening because the last three years things haven’t been happening so that’s good to see.”
The flooding problems started shortly after the Gurney’s moved in three years ago.
“The district told us time and time again that it was underground water flow and it was nothing to do with them and that they couldn’t help us,” says Gurney.
The issues persisted and even got worse, until last fall when the district came in to do upgrades seemingly unrelated to Gurney’s case.
“There was a broken water basin, there’s improper drainage across the street and there was indeed the broken water main once those three things were fixed all those water problems have gone away,” he says.
The Gurneys aren’t alone. Their neighbor had similar water problems, which also disappeared after the fix of the broken water main. Gurney says he’s confident there’s enough evidence to prove his case and that things will work out for he and his family.
The district was unavailable for comment Sunday.
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