For the first time in 11 years, about 18,000 Kelowna residents are no longer subject to a quality advisory regarding their tap water.
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The advisory indicates a small health risk due to elevated turbidity levels, but the risk is not enough to warrant a boil-water notice.
The Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District, with the blessing of Interior Health, has removed the advisory for people in Kelowna’s Glenmore area.
Since the advisory was issued in 2006, the district has undertaken various projects to improve the quality of the water drawn from Okanagan Lake.
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The upgrades include a ‘dual disinfection’ treatment plant, new ‘deep water’ intakes from the lake and an enclosed concrete reservoir — with a total cost of $22 million.
“Our ratepayers contributed to this and now they are seeing the results and reaping the rewards,” chair of Trustees, Steven Bonn, said. “It’s a huge step for the district, one of the largest made in our existence actually.”
About 600 Ellison area residents serviced by the improvement district remain under a water quality advisory pending further system improvements.
They should be completed within the next two years.