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The District of Peachland unveiled its long-awaited Water master plan Tuesday and it calls for $55 million worth of infrastructure investments over the next 20 years to secure and safeguard the town’s water supply. “The vision of the master plan is, to provide a safe, reliable and affordable supply of water for the District of Peachland,” said Greg Buchholz, a water quality technologist with consulting firm Urban Systems. Peachland and Urban Systems have been working on the plan for nearly a year, which outlines what the town needs to do to ensure a stable and safe water supply. Highlights of the water master plan include establishing Peachland Creek as the primary water source, constructing a filtration-based treatment plant at the source, integrating the town’s water systems, adding reservoir capacity and increasing water conservation measures. Four separate water sources are used currently to supply water to the town: Peachland and Trepanier Creeks, Okanagan Lake and two groundwater wells. The master plan, considered a draft at this point, calls for making Peachland Creek the town’s primary water source. “The primary issue facing the district is the long-term need for water treatment to meet provincial and Interior Health Authority (IHA) standards,” said Buchholz. IHA has adopted a new policy that means filtration will be required for all surface waters, including water from Okanagan Lake, according to Buchholz. In addition, IHA will require all water supplies, including from wells, to be chlorinated. “Sanitary sewer and a desirable community have led to a marked rise in development activity and interest in Peachland,” said Dan Huang, a senior planner with Urban Systems. Huang said the master plan was based on a 20-year projection of 2,200 additional residential units being constructed, equating to a 3.5 per cent annual growth rate. “The water master plan has structured capital improvements such that development should benefit the community as a whole and that new development pays its fair share,” said Huang. The plan is dependent on reduction of water demands by 25 per cent from current, to meet provincial averages, said Huang. Peachland has awarded a contract for a $1 million water metering program which Huang said is a proven method to achieve water conservation targets. Domestic outdoor uses, which include watering lawns, accounts for 47 per cent of total water use, according to Buchholz. Another 38 per cent is used by agricultural users. Water availability is not a concern, according to Buchholz. He said the current demand is 3,309 megalitres of water and will be 4,169 megalitres in 20 years. The town currently has water licenses for 10,868 megalitres and watershed yield is significantly higher than that. What is a problem is that the Trepanier Creek water system has virtually no storage capacity and water flows run dangerously low in late summer. “The district has sufficient water under license to meet its current and future water requirements,” said Buchholz. The Ponderosa water wells are nearing the end of their useful life and Trepanier Creek experiences periods of poor water quality due to turbidity and colour, according to Buchholz. “Peachland Creek is recommended as the preferred primary source,” said Buchholz. The creek has a “robust supply”, upland storage and a gravity feed system can be used to deliver water to most of the town. District council looked at three options in July for the master plan and settled on one option, which Urban Systems has been refining over the past several months. The $55.4 million option council chose calls for constructing a water filtration plant near Peachland Creek, establishing a 10-kilometre long water ‘spine’ as a gravity main for the town and using Okanagan Lake only as a backup water supply source. Urban systems has come up with several complex financial models that describe how the master plan can be paid for over the next 20 years. Integral to the models is the concept that developers will fund the total project to the tune of $10.5 million. A water treatment plant should be constructed in 10 years time, according to Buchholz. The next steps for the plan include sending out a community newsletter early in the New Year and holding a public house possibly in February. In addition to increased future water rates, the plan will be funded in part through increased development cost charges to developers.
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