By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: October 09, 2008
Work on a multi-million dollar upgrade to Greater Vernon’s water system is about to get underway. Logging will begin this weekend at the site of the Duteau Creek water treatment plant, and it’s anticipated that site grading will start by the middle of next week. “I am extremely pleased. We’ve been working at this for some time,” said Gary Corner, Greater Vernon Advisory Committee chairman, of the $30 million project. That is also the view of Jerry Oglow, North Okanagan Regional District chair. “It’s good that we are on the ground there and moving earth around,” he said. The facility — which will benefit residents of the former Vernon Irrigation District — has been proposed for a number of years, but construction was delayed while an environmental assessment was done to ensure funding from the federal government materialized. Approvals were also needed from the Okanagan and Splatsin Indian bands. Staff touched base with the contractor Wednesday to make sure everything is in place for the site grading to start. “We want to get the site contracting underway before the soil freezes up. It’s a two-month contract,” said Bill Di Pasquale, project manager. With site preparations about to begin, the next step for the North Okanagan Regional District is to go to general tender for the actual construction project by the end of October. It’s hoped that the contract can be awarded by the end of this year, and the new facility could be completed by the end of April 2010. That timeline is good news for elected officials.
“The rural areas need an idea of when we can get some clean water,” said Stan Field, director for BX-Silver Star. But the politicians and the public are being cautioned not to become too focused on the April 2010 date. “The start up of plants don’t always run 100 per cent when the buttons are pushed so we need to be patient,” said Di Pasquale.
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Editorial Morning Star: Finally, first step to clean water
There is now a glimmer of hope for the many Greater Vernon residents who crinkle their nose at a rust and debris filled bathtub or fight to keep white clothes from fading to a yellowy-brown hue. That hope comes from news that the long-awaited Duteau Creek water treatment plant is finally breaking ground. One would think we had been waiting for this announcement for years. The fact is, we have. The project has been on the books for so long that the initial announcement has become a distant memory for many.Since that first announcement, residents have spent years buying bottled water, dealing with constant boil water advisories and pleading for the day when they can pour a glass of water from the tap and actually drink it. But more so, residents have also been forking over the funds to pay for this project. Meanwhile they feel as though their money is going down the drain because they have yet to see a drop of clear water.
Unfortunately, even with the latest ground-breaking news, the day when orange water becomes history is years off. The plant still has to be built and it will take a bit of time to get things working properly. But the fact that the project is finally going somewhere is great news for everyone. It provides some hope for all of the Duteau Creek water source users. Although this step should have happened long ago, no one could have predicted the delays caused by environmental assessments and Indian band approvals. So out of everyone who is happy to hear the news, it is Gary Corner who is likely happiest. Not only is this something he wanted to see started before his term as Coldstream mayor and Greater Vernon Services chairman ends, he is the one who has had to listen to all of us complain about it for years.
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