A Do Not Consume Water Notice is being issued to residents in the Clifton Road area of Kelowna after there was a reservoir break-in on Sunday.
Water can still be used for basic sanitary and outdoor watering purposes, which includes flushing toilets, irrigation on assigned days, laundry, bathing, showering, washing of food, etc., but at this time, no tap water should be consumed until test results indicate full water quality compliance.
Water cannot be made safe by boiling it, the city said in a notice stating that customers should be aware of the “modest health risk associated with consuming water at this time.”
This notice affects approximately 1,500 residences located in the Clifton Road area and will remain in place until further notice.
“We have evidence of a break-in at our reservoir on Grainger Road that was discovered this morning. There is currently no physical evidence that our water system has been contaminated, and the reservoir was isolated by operators,” said Andy Weremy, water operations manager.
“Initial testing has not indicated anything unusual, and our emergency protocols and automation have reduced many of the risks to the public through immediate isolation of the incident.
“Additional water testing, which will take at least two days to complete, is required by regulation to ensure that the reservoir and pumping systems can be brought back online and water is again safe to consume by meeting Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guidelines. We expect the test results to be finalized on Wednesday, Aug. 21.”
The incident is currently being investigated by the RCMP. Anyone who may have witnessed, or has information relating to the break-in at the reservoir is asked to phone the Kelowna RCMP’s non-emergency line at 250-762-3300 referencing file number 2024-47894. Anyone wanting to remain anonymous may also contact Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or leave a tip online at crimestoppers.net.
More information will be available to residents as soon as possible at kelowna.ca/waterquality. Owners of all public facilities within the affected area are required to post Water Quality notices at all sinks or drinking water fountains accessible to the public.
For more information about water quality or to subscribe to direct email updates, please visit kelowna.ca/waterquality.
The City of Kelowna system supplies water to more than 80,000 residents and more than 1,700 industrial, commercial and institutional properties in north, central and south Kelowna. The raw water source is Okanagan Lake.