Burst sewer line under repair in Vernon

by Staff Writer - Vernon Morning Star posted Dec 21, 2015 at 9:00 AM
The City of Vernon has experienced a failure on a pipe along Commonage Road, southwest of Allen Brooks Nature Centre.The pipe discharges from the sewer treatment plant on 25th Avenue to McKay Reservoir as part of the spray irrigation program, and the material is stored in the reservoir during the winter."The irrigation water does not contain any chlorine and poses no environmental concerns, nor does it affect services to the general public," said Tanya Laing Gahr, with the city."At this time, city crews are currently on-site working to complete the repair as quick as possible." Traffic disruption along Commonage Road can be expected during the construction. It's not known how long repairs could take.

Lake Discharge Decision Not Imminent

Written by Peter McIntyre Friday, 17 May 2013 15:18 
While Vernon council has acted on dozens of recommendations from the core service review, others will take longer. Mayor Rob Sawatzky says a suggestion to replace spray irrigation with discharges into the lake -- which could save one million dollars a year in pumping and other costs -- is still under discussion. "Spray irrigation is the subject of an ongoing large review process. That's the liquid waste management, so we need to let that process come to its conclusion and then we'll have our discussions and a decision on that," Sawatzky tells Kiss FM. Meantime, Vernon is still trying to get a better deal when it comes to the cost for office staff at the Vernon RCMP detachment. Mayor Sawatzky says the city feels it's paying more than its fair share, compared to their regional partners. "There's going to be a review of that because it appears at present, Vernon financially supports a ratio that is burdensome and  not the usual." Seeking a better deal on the municipal employees is one of the cost-cutting suggestions made in the core review done for the city. The spending and service study by KPMG made 113 recommendations for council to consider.
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Administration Analysis Core Services Review - Org and Staff 
  Administration Analysis Core Services Review

Group Opposes Lake Discharge

Written by Peter McIntyre Thursday, 02 May 2013 06:00 

Vernon's water reclamation plant

  A member of the group Save Our Lakes is concerned about talk to use the outfall pipe to discharge Vernon's reclaimed water into Okanagan Lake. Switching from spray irrigation to the pipe is one of the cost cutting ideas city council got in a core service and spending review by KPMG. Long time pipe opponent Allan Hill says Greater Vernon's plan to separate local water supplies, will reduce the need to discharge  treated waste water, so the pipe won't be needed. "I can't see the point because if we go to split irrigation water for agricultural purposes, and the normal treated water for the normal house-holder, then it's pointless," he tells Kiss FM. Hill also says a 2008 court ruling states the pipe can be only be used for emergencies. "It's got to meet a hundred conditions before it can (be used), and it has to have permission from the Ministry of the Environment in order to do anything," says Hill, a former regional district director for Okanagan Landing. Reading from the Supreme Court ruling, Hill says it limits use of the pipe to "unforeseen circumstances beyond the city's control that prevent the city from pumping treated reclaimed water from the reclamation centre to McKay reservoir." Those conditions could include power outages, pump failures, or levels at the McKay reservoir reaching 1,939 feet. The outfall pipe, which was installed in the late 1980's, was used once in 1996 due to a wet summer limiting the spray program, and high levels at the reservoir. Hill says in addition to Save Our Lakes, the Sierra Club of Canada is following this issue. He says using the pipe is a health risk. "After listening to what happened to Kelowna when it had 15,000 cases of sporidium because their outfall was in shabby order, we don't want any stupid things like that to happen here."