January 16, 2014 - 11:25 AM
VERNON, B.C. - The Regional District of North Okanagan has been sentenced for its part in a tainted water case four years ago.
The government agency was fined $18,540 after being found guilty in September of four charges under the BC Water and Water Protection acts.
A provincial court judge in Vernon, B.C., has ruled the regional district didn't do enough to prevent contamination of the well in the town of Coldstream in January 2010.
Rain washed livestock effluent into the well from a farmer's field and tainted water reached some nearby homes, but no one became ill.
The fine is similar to one handed to the District of Coldstream last year, because it operates the water system while the regional district owns and manages it.
Sentencing of the regional district was delayed last October after a senior official was heard on the radio saying everything possible had been done to protect water users, which the judge suggested showed indifference to the guilty ruling. (CKIZ)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014