Hefty fines after Coldstream water contamination

The District of Coldstream and a dairy farmer have been slapped with fines after pleading guilty in a water contamination incident.

In January 2010, warm weather and heavy rain caused manure from a field in Lavington to get into the Antwerp Springs water source.

The incident led to a week-long Do Not Consume order for 1,800 water customers. No cases of illness were tied to the incident.

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Under a joint sentencing deal, farmer Rod Palfrey pled guilty to a charge under the Environmental Management Act. Palfrey was fined $2,000 and will contribute $14,000 dollars to the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund.

The District of Coldstream, which operated the water system, also pled guilty to failure to provide potable water and was fined $16,000.

In a news release on Wednesday, the mayor of Coldstream Jim Garlick says he believes the district would have been successful in defending itself on all of the charges but did not want to spend taxpayer dollars on a lengthy trial.

The Regional District of the North Okanagan, which owned and managed the system, is fighting similar charges with a trial set for January.