Kelowna mayor Colin Basan, left, speaks at media conference in Kelowna, Friday, March 17, 2017 to announce provincial government funding for Central Okanagan water projects.
(JENNA HICKMAN / iNFOnews.ca)
March 17, 2017 - 4:41 PM
KELOWNA - The provincial and federal governments handed out over $85 million for water systems in the Central Okanagan this afternoon.
The funding announcements from the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund were made at a media conference in Kelowna this afternoon, March 17.
Kelowna is getting close to $44 million from in government funding for the City's Integrated Water Supply Plan, West Kelowna will receive over $41 million for the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant and the regional district is getting about $602,000 for a project to improve the Falcon Ridge Water System.
“This is the largest grant amount the City of Kelowna can recall receiving, so we’re thrilled,” Kelowna mayor Colin Basran says. “This is a really significant day because it sets in motion this 2017 Integrated Water Supply Plan and it is a great first step.”
The project, which was announced March 1, is a long-term plan aimed to supply Kelowna residents with clean water. The total cost of the project is $61.3 million, with a combined local contribution of $17.4 million.
Since his election in 2014, Basran has made it a priority to address Kelowna’s water issues. Further engineering work needs to be done, but he says the City aims to provide the majority of South East Kelowna Irrigation District ratepayers with water by late 2019 and to all customers in the city by 2020.
The over $41 million for West Kelowna will put construction of the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant five years ahead of schedule.
“The City of West Kelowna is grateful beyond words for this generous contribution, which will put us on the fast track to building a state of the art facility with the aim of bringing water quality assurances to the entire northern half of our city,” Mayor Doug Findlater says.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jenna Hickman or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2017