Sorrento Elementary School is picture in this undated image from Google Street View.
Image Credit: GOOGLE STREET VIEW
July 28, 2024 - 3:30 PM
The North Okanagan Shuswap school district has been fined $3,040 for multiple failures in submitting water samples to the province.
According to a Ministry of Environment and Climate Change penalty assessment, the issue took place at Sorrento Elementary School where staff failed to monitor and sample effluent and groundwater monitoring wells.
School District 83 North Okanagan-Shuswap failed to conduct 11 samples out of 22 throughout 2021 and 2022.
"The missing monitoring data would provide additional information to better understand the potential impacts that this discharge is having on the receiving environment," the notice said. "The School District has also failed to conduct effluent sampling and analysis as required... The effluent analysis is necessary to determine whether treatment is effective. Without regular feedback the Facility can not be properly managed."
The penalty notice gives no indication the issue has affected the drinking water at the school.
The Ministry said the adverse effect created by the failures was "low to none" but said the school of about 240 students and 40 staff has a history of noncompliance and has been warned and fined before.
The notice said the school was first told it wasn't adhering to the correct water sampling procedures in 2012 and received an official warning in 2018.
It was then fined $900 in 2021.
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Following the 2021 fine, the School District told the Ministry all was in order and a new system was in place.
"Despite this assurance sampling events continued to be missed and evidence of this implementation has yet to be provided," the penal notice read.
The original fine amount was set at $7,044.
"The Ministry does not have any evidence that the School District took all reasonable steps to avoid these failures to comply," the notice read.
However, the fine was ultimately dropped to $3,040 after the School District appealed.
"New information was brought forward that led to settlement discussions," the Ministry told iNFOnews.ca in an email.
"The failure to conduct groundwater measurements and to conduct sampling events does not lead to immediate adverse effects and has limited potential to impact the environment or human health. Instead, they reduce the ability of the School District to observe and respond to these exceedances," the notice said.
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