One
way or another---Greater Vernon residents will be paying more for the
next several years to fund multi million dollar water upgrades. Regional District of North Okanagan staff estimate an extra four
million dollars a year will be needed to fund projects to separate the
agricultural and domestic water supplies. Greater Vernon Advisory Committee chair Mike Macnabb says they'll decide later this month if it's funded by 17 percent fee hikes,
combined with using two million from reserves, or through taxation. He tells Kiss FM, "Ultimately we have to come up with almost 17
million dollars (from fees this year), and that is all on the users, as
it's a user pay system." Coldstream director Gyula Kiss says it would be easier on taxpayers
if the funds were borrowed, with payback over a 20 year period. Vernon director Rob Sawatzky says the hikes shouldn't just the on residential customers. "Agriculture needs to share in this, they are huge users." Utility manager Al Cotsworth says the separation projects would be on
Old Kamloops Road and on Highway 6 near the Coldstream Ranch. He says the work will give the Duteau Creek Treatment Plant the
ability to provide more domestic water which was an issue last summer. Directors will hold a special meeting February 22 to discuss the funding options.If the 17 percent hikes are approved, the cost per cubic metre (1,000 litres) would rise from 78 cents to 91 cents for a customer in the second tier, and from $1.24 to $1.45 for tier four (heavy water user).
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