West Kelowna seeking funding for water treatment plant | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kelowna News

West Kelowna seeking funding for water treatment plant

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In light of interest and inquiries from the general public, the City of West Kelowna wishes to inform citizens that the municipality has completed its application to the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund. The City’s application was the 5th application made to the provincial Ministry of Community Services and was submitted on November 10, ahead of the November 23 deadline.

The application requests 83% funding support for the construction of a new multi-barrier water treatment plant at the Rose Valley Reservoir and related transmission main work to interconnect the Lakeview Water System with the Pritchard, Sunnyside and West Kelowna Estates Water Systems. The total cost of the project is estimated at $53.5 million.

Construction of the treatment plant is recommended in the City’s Water Master Plan, but slated for construction in 2022, allowing time for the City to accumulate the necessary financial resources. Council agreed to advance the project in light of requests from the public after Lakeview Water System users experienced a water quality advisory from August to November stemming from problematic algae blooms in the reservoir which resulted in higher-than-normal turbidity. This turbidity is not effectively treated through chlorination alone – the current treatment level for Lakeview, Pritchard, Sunnyside and West Kelowna Estates Water Systems.

The City’s application includes funding requests for installing transmission mains to interconnect the four water systems, all to be serviced by the new treatment plant. This interconnection would impact 6,200 customers, or approximately half the households and one quarter of the businesses in the City of West Kelowna.

The Federal and Provincial Governments launched the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund in September 2016 to help accelerate short-term local government investments, while supporting the rehabilitation of water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and the planning and design of future facilities and upgrades to existing systems.

The fund will invest up to $373.6 million to support infrastructure projects in communities in BC - $225.1 million from the Government of Canada and $148.5 million from the Province of British Columbia. The fund offers a maximum of 83% of the total eligible project costs, 50% is contributed by the Government of Canada and 33% by the Province of British Columbia. The remaining funding would come from the municipality. It is anticipated funding announcements will be made in Spring 2017.


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