KELOWNA – We all like to assume the water coming out of our taps is clean and healthy. However, in some central Okanagan neighbourhoods, that’s not always the case.
Last week, the spring runoff had turned the water in parts of the South East Kelowna Irrigation District (SKEID) into a murky mess.
READ MORE: South East Kelowna water woes
Some improvements have been made to the city’s water utilities’ infrastructure.
“Before in the spring, it used to look like coffee,” says Kelowna resident Wayne Farina who lives in the Glenmore area.
“It’s great now, it’s clear. It’s fine, it doesn’t smell or anything.”
However, Steven Bonn with the Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District (GEID) says many central Okanagan residents still have tap water that doesn’t meet standards set out by the Interior Health Authority.
“Black Mountain Irrigation District meets the guidelines, Rutland Water Works meets the guidelines, and the GEID will be meeting guidelines completely by the end of the year. The only district now still struggling with water quality issues is up in southeast Kelowna,” says Bonn.
Kelowna mayor Colin Basran has suggested the most efficient solution is to amalgamate all the systems within the city, but the water districts want to carry out improvements first and consider joining the city later.
“The city has decided that amalgamation is more important for them right now than water quality improvement,” says Brian Wright with the SKEID.
So now, the province is stepping in to mediate.
“We came in and said can we provide some facilitation to get the parties to the table,” says Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, Peter Fassbender.
The first step, according to Fassbender, is to stop debating the issue in public.
“I’ve said the same thing to the mayor and to the water districts. Let’s stop the public debate about this, let’s get at the table together, take the leadership that they are elected to take and let’s get on with the solution,” says Fassbender.
Colin Basran now declining to comment on the topic but in previous interviews, his position was clear.
“City council’s first priority is getting clean water to all of our citizens and we believe that by integrating all of the water providers in our city and having one integrated system would be the most efficient way to do that,” said
Basran in an interview with Global News on February 12, 2016.
WATCH: Kelowna at odds with water utilities on integration talks
Even with government intervention, it appears the process will be a long one.
In the meantime, residents are hoping the solution will result in clean water and reasonable rates.
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