By Scott NeufeldFriday, July 14, 2006, http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_359.php
After months of living under on-again, off-again water quality warnings, Kalamalka Lake customers may finally be getting a reprieve.The Interior Health Authority is examining data that suggests that the lake’s turbidity is not necessarily a health risk.Greater Vernon Services water quality technologist Tricia Brett said that the lake’s naturally occurring distinctive blue tint causes higher turbidity. She said that the lake’s marl, a natural process that purifies the lake by limiting algae growth, causes an increase in small mineral particles.“Interior Health is asking us for more information as to how UV treatment is affected by marl,” she said. “Perhaps the turbidity in Kal Lake is not a health risk.”With the new Mission Hill Treatment Plant about to come on line, tests are showing that the plant’s UV treatment process kills bacteria despite the turbidity. In other lakes, higher turbidity can mask the bacteria making them difficult to eliminate, Brett said. If the plant can eliminate the bugs from the water despite a high number of particles it makes most of the notices unnecessary, she said.“We’re still doing many tests of the treatment there,” she said. “(The tests) are showing the same treatment effects regardless of turbidity.”According to a report prepared by the Water Supply Association of B.C. and given to the Minister of Health last month, if the turbidity standard on Kalamalka Lake is not changed, water quality advisories will continue despite the new $6 million plant which can’t filter the lake’s marl. The Mission Hill Plant was set to begin operation on Wednesday, however, a technical issue has delayed the start up of the new plant. Brett said she is unsure when the plant will be fully operational.“They had an injection of water that was very highly turbid,” she said. “Now they have to go back and clean the plant out and move forward.”Also in the water report were a number of incidents showing why Greater Vernon Services would like the turbidity regulations changed.One anecdote told of a team of fastball players from Calgary who became violently ill after drinking water from a local restaurant. Having seen the water quality notices around the city, the team’s coach called for an investigation.“Obviously, this restaurant served us tap water,” the coach is quoted as saying in the report. “I would appreciate this going to someone who can investigate and penalize this eatery.”The fact that visitors would immediately blame the water supply for their illness, shows the weaknesses of the warning system, Brett said. The players’ illness came at a time where there was very little turbidity in the system and a low-risk of getting sick, she said.Another story told of an out of town visitor who checked out and headed for Kelowna after seeing a water quality advisory. The report also notes that several local restaurants opted not to serve water to avoid liability issues. “This just shows that the water quality advisory is not very well understood by the public,” she said. “It’s mainly a trigger to the elderly and the public.”
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THE REPORT REFERRED TO IN THE ABOVE ARTICLE IS AT http://www.greatervernon.ca/user_files/File/060606%20George%20Abbott%20meeting%20memo%20sanitized.pdf
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