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April 28, 2017 - 6:30 PM
WEST KELOWNA – Residents living along Westside Road will be without water and power for most of the day next Thursday.
B.C. Hydro says the outage will last from 6 a.m. to approximately 6 p.m. May 4 allowing crews to improve the system and in turn that will take out water distribution.
This work will affect residents at La Casa Resort north of the intersection of Westshore Road and Westside Road including Fintry and Killiney Beach, according to a media release from the Regional District of the Central Okanagan.
The outage will also impact operation of the Regional District’s Killiney Beach, Westshore Estates and Upper Fintry-Shalal Road-Valley of the Sun water systems.
“During the time the electricity’s off we encourage our more than 600 customers on these systems to only use water when needed,” Smith says. “If possible, avoid doing laundry and running dishwashers because they use large amounts of water. Customers may also wish to stockpile some additional water in advance for household use by filling their bathtub or having additional drinking water available.”
When power is off for an extended period, system pumps can’t operate and users connected directly to pressurized pipes lose water shortly after the electrical outage, depending on where they are located within the system. Those connected directly to a reservoir will continue to get water until the reservoir supply is depleted.
Should any of the three systems run out of water during this time, the Regional District could be forced to issue a Precautionary Water Quality Advisory until staff can flush the system.
“Once electricity is restored and all pumps are working again,” Smith says “users directly connected to the pressure pipes will receive water fairly quickly once the system’s pressure returns. Those fed from reservoirs will take longer to get water service as it takes time to refill and replenish the reservoirs. If your water is cloudy please run the cold water tap until it clears.”
Affected residents can find information from BC Hydro on ‘Prepare Your Home for An Outage’ and ‘What to Do During an Outage from Safety to Kids to Food’. Visit bchydro.com/outages or bchydro.com/mobile for the most up-to-date information on the outage and the estimated time for electricity restoration.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2017