Preparing for the mussels Kate Bouey - CASTANET Jan 7, 2016 / 2:06 pm

by Kate Bouey - CASTANET Jan 7, 2016 / 2:06 pm
Greater Vernon Water staff have plans to fight zebra and quagga mussels in the event the pests make it into Kalamalka Lake. The small mussels multiply rapidly and can clog up screens and water pipes, among other hazards, increasing maintenance costs. “Although we are hoping the mussels never make it to Kalamalka Lake, we are also aware that there is a risk that they will someday become an issue,” said Zee Marcolin, Greater Vernon water manager. During a presentation to the Greater Vernon Advisory Council Thursday, Marcolin asked for early 2016 budget approval of $185,000 for the Kalamalka Lake intake extension. Most of the money would be used to extend piping out into the lake aimed at reducing turbidity, or cloudiness, before the water hits consumers' water pipes. “We expect to keep the same depth, but go further out (in the lake),” Marcolin told the committee. Water quality is sometimes dependent on winds which can stir up the lake bottom, she explained. An additional 75 metres of pipe is expected to be added, extending the piping to 325 metres. “So now, the project is costing $375,000 (in total),” commented director Bob Spiers. It was then Marcolin mentioned some of the funding would be used to add a chlorine line to “get ready for mussels.” “Most utilities, if not all, that have an intake on infested lakes install chlorine lines” which significantly reduce the growth of the mussels, Marcolin said later. “We would not normally do this project until the mussels were a reality, but since we are doing the project to raise the screen of Kal Lake off the bottom of the lake, it only makes sense from a cost perspective to put the line in now.”

In total, including the Kal Lake extension, the committee recommended $1 million in capital works projects be given early budget approval by the North Okanagan Regional District board of directors. Among them were three pipe replacement projects within the City of Vernon including $370,000 for PVC pipes along Pleasant Valley Road between 32nd and 35th avenues, $75,000 for 30th Street between Highway 6 to 30th Avenue and $110,000 for 29th Avenue between 29th and 30th streets. Some of the pipes in the ground now are very old, according to Mike Macnabb, Electoral Area C director. While some are known to have gone into the ground in 1926, Macnabb said there is no record for other sections that “could be much, much older.” “The oldest and most vulnerable infrastructure is within the City of Vernon,” said Macnabb. “(Staff) have actually found wooden stave pipes and that's what you did 100 years ago so that's not really a good pipe to have in the ground.” Other capital projects include $70,000 for ranch well improvements to the King Edward irrigation system in Coldstream and $180,000 for improvements to the south Vernon irrigation district.
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Don Quixote Note:  The original 2015 capital project for the Kal Lake intake was $200,000. This request for an additional $185,000 brings the final budget estimate to $385,000.

http://www.rdno.ca/agendas/160107_AGN_GVAC_Full.pdf (p.21)
The Kai Lake intake extension project was approved in 2015 with a budget of $200,000. A consultant was selected and design commenced. The subsequent construction estimate based on more detailed design is $345,800 and additional budget funds are required. In 2016, the necessary additional funding is $185,000.