17 homes left without water in Spallumcheen, B.C.

An alleged dispute between the B.C. Ministry of Forests and a North Okanagan community has led to 17 homes being left without water.

The water district of Meighan Creek is in the Township of Spallumcheen, just north of Vernon.

Residents are blaming the BC Ministry of Forests after ministry workers removed a vital piece of equipment from their water system.

“The Ministry of Forests came out yesterday,” said Randy Roelfsema, a nearby resident, who has been left without water.

“They came here to remove our intake screen which we use to stop debris from going into our intake and plugging our water system.”

The removal of the screen quickly led to the water system being clogged with debris.

“Within a half-hour, the water intake basically came down to a trickle, and I was showing the ministry (workers) that the water had already dropped a few inches and a few hours later we were out of water,” said Roelfsema.

A letter given to Global News by a resident, who claims it’s from the Ministry of Forests, states that the community’s intake system was unauthorized, and that the intake system was ordered to be removed – under the Water Sustainability Act.

Residents also say the ministry is worried that the intake system could lead to flooding and possibly the washing away of a nearby road.

They are also saying the ministry has asked the intake system to be rebuilt under the guidance of an engineer.

Unfortunately, that comes with a heavy price tag.

“It would cost (the 17 homes) approximately $30,000-50,000, which we do not have,” said Roelfsema.

“There are 17 families here and some are just struggling to pay 250 a year for water fees.”

Chris Stain, a father of two young children, said one day without water has already been long enough.

“We have a household of four. We can’t wash our clothes, we can’t brush our teeth, we can’t wash our dishes,” said Stain.

“It’s frustrating. We don’t live in a third world country, this is Canada, we should have water.”

Global News has reached out to the BC Ministry of Forests but did not receive a response in time for publication.

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