Lyonel Doherty, Times Chronicle
The Gallagher Lake siphon repair project officially opened north of Oliver today with a momentous ribbon cutting.
Several current and past dignitaries were on hand to celebrate the $11 million project that saw a section of canal re-routed around Gallagher Lake after it was damaged in a rock fall seven years ago. The siphon provides water to more than 600 users in the Oliver area.
Oliver Mayor Martin Johansen acknowledged former MLA Linda Larson and former mayor Ron Hovanes who were instrumental in lobbying the provincial government for a $5 million contribution towards the project.
Johansen said current MLA Roly Russell worked hard to ensure the government followed through with the $5 million commitment.
“And believe me there were times we weren’t sure it was going to come,” Johansen said.
The mayor acknowledged Director of Operations Shawn Goodsell for monitoring the project and working diligently with TRUE Engineering consultants who came up with an innovative design for the pumping station.
Johansen commented about the length of time it took for the water to start appearing. “There was a guy on the radio saying, ‘the water’s going in the pipe,’ and the other guy on the other end is, ‘well, it’s not here yet . . . it’s not here yet.’”
Laughter erupted, with Goodsell saying when they released the water at the dam it took about 90 minutes before they started seeing it.
Johansen thanked Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie and his council for finding an alternate canal route through their land, which made the project possible.
He also gave kudos to H&M Excavating Ltd. for a “fantastic job” in completing the project in time to meet the irrigation start dates.
Johansen admitted that if they weren’t able to turn the water on, so to speak, there would have been “millions and millions of dollars” worth of impact to the local farming community.
MLA Roly Russell said this was the first real substantial project that came to him when he was elected.
“It was Mayor Johansen calling and saying, ‘we need five million dollars.’ “Okay, how do I do that?” Russell questioned.
The MLA said this project is a great example of the province supporting local communities.
“This project helps enable a great deal of the economy and helps mitigate some of the risks (faced by agriculture production facilities).”
Sammy Jo Louie from the Osoyoos Indian Band said they understand the irrigation canal is a huge project that supports agricultural users on and off the reserve.
Oliver water councillor Rick Machial said the canal rerouting project is very significant.
“It guarantees that we’re going to have water when we need it without any danger of losing our supply in the middle of summer, which would be catastrophic.”
Machial added there are tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars worth of economic activity that is guaranteed to continue with this project.
The councillor noted there is back-up power here so that if the power goes down the pumps will run and continue to provide water.
Machial said having this permanent fix means there is no more guillotine hanging above farmers’ heads.
