Taps turned off on Duteau

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: October 10, 2009 12:00 PM

Thousands of residents will be impacted by a critical part of upgrading Greater Vernon’s water.A pipeline will be shut down Nov. 16 as the partially constructed Duteau Creek water treatment plant is tied into a main. That means the traditional source of water for 9,000 homes won’t be available and they will be switched to other sources for seven to 14 days.“We can do this now because flows are so much less than they are at peak,” said Al Cotsworth, utility manager.The impacted Duteau customers in the BX, Vernon and Coldstream will get water from a Coldstream Ranch well, Kalamalka Lake and King Edward Lake.“The hardness of the water may go up or down and the clarity may be better,” said Cotsworth.

A precautionary boil water notice will also be in place until the Duteau source is reconnected again and turbidity and bacteriological testing is done.“This could be as long as two weeks,” said Cotsworth. Because these new sources of water may not be able to handle high demand periods, the 9,000 customers will be asked to cut back on consumption.

Discussions have also been held with local fire departments to ensure their needs are met.“For the normal house fire there will be volume,” said Cotsworth, adding that resources could be stretched if a large blaze were to occur.Also impacted will be five Whitevale customers closest to the treatment plant. They will lose water completely and the North Okanagan Regional District will either provide them with bottled water or with money so the families can move out of their homes.

In terms of construction of the $29 million treatment plant, 85 per cent of the concrete has been poured.“We’ve been delayed a couple of weeks but the contractor believes they can make it up. But it’s doubtful,” said Cotsworth.It’s expected that treatment equipment could begin functioning by the end of March.“We may not be truly operating where we want it until August but we may see some improvements in April,” said Cotsworth.