By Lyonel Doherty

Some people are wondering what the impacts will be when the irrigation canal is rerouted in the Gallagher Lake area.

Last week Town council approved relocating the siphon along Highway 97, away from the bluff where a section of canal was damaged last year after a rock fall.

The $10.4 million reroute option was chosen over others including: repairing the existing siphon for $5.3 million; a new siphon in Gallagher Lake for $9.7 million; and tunneling a new canal through the rock bluff for $14 million.

Engineering consultant Steve Underwood told council that he thought the tunnel option was the “coolest one.”

“The train tunnel through the bluff . . . it’s such an elegant solution,” he said to laughter.

But he did mention that a part of that area is a rattlesnake habitat.

Underwood said repairing the existing siphon is the preferred option cost-wise, but he noted that council runs the risk of another rock fall damaging the canal again.

The engineer noted the siphon’s temporary fix last spring will likely last another several years, but pointed out that a dry, hot summer may result in water restrictions and enforcement.

The favoured option will see the siphon rerouted to follow Highway 97 starting at the rock quarry, north of Country Pines mobile home park. It will then travel on the east side of the highway and end through James Way on Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) land.

Shawn Goodsell, director of operations for the Town of Oliver, said construction will depend on funding and when this money is received.

Goodsell said the siphon will likely be constructed of concrete pipe through the irrigation season, but not tied in to either end until after the season is complete.

“So, farmers won’t be affected by construction,” he pointed out.

Underwood said traffic will have to be rerouted on this section of highway for the duration of construction. And according to the Ministry of Transportation, 24-hour traffic control is required.

What is also required is an environmental assessment and archeological review. Underwood said a section of the highway right-of-way is a registered archeological site.

According to the engineering report, the OIB prefers the Highway 97 reroute option but with the following conditions: the right-of-way no longer in use be returned to the band; all structures no longer in use be removed and OIB’s land returned to its original condition; an environmental review be conducted and impacts to species at risk be mitigated; and the OIB expects band members and contractors to be employed as part of the project.

Underwood said the adjacent mobile home park has concerns about construction occurring nearby.

He noted the project will involve trenching and backfilling adjacent to 20 mobile homes on the property.

“Their primary concern is that the units are situated on old, rotten wood foundations,” Underwood said. “They anticipate that the vibrations caused during construction activities will cause these support blocks under their units to crumble.”

This concern was discussed with the Town’s insurer, but the advice was merely to limit liability as much as possible.

“The liability claims would be quite large if the Town undertook replacement of all foundations prior to construction,” Underwood said.

But he suggested they seek a legal opinion, however, he also noted that if some mobile home foundations are rotting, the owners need to fix them.

Country Pines resident Thor Manson said rerouting the canal on Highway 97 looks like the best option, but he has several concerns with it.

He said an 8.5 meter wide trench is a very wide ditch.

“It is much larger than I initially envisioned. Obviously installation of same will be disruptive.”

Manson said construction adjacent to existing structures will obviously have an impact whether the supports are wood, rotting or not.

“We have seen damage to homes in the park where the foundation blocks are concrete, when heavy equipment is operating nearby. It doesn’t seem this factor is being taken seriously enough.”

Manson also questioned whether there will be efforts to mitigate the dust generated by the project.  “Most residents in this area are seniors and some have breathing issues,” he pointed out.

Manson wonders if the environmental impact study will take into consideration the fact that Country Pines and Cottonwoods and all residential properties on the east side get their water from aquifers. He noted that everyone uses septic tanks or fields.

The homeowner also questions the impact on the water quality of Gallagher Lake.

Gallagher Lake resident Bill Barisoff said the highway reroute option makes a lot of sense, particularly when you consider the ongoing problems with canal damage at the bluff.

Barisoff said the disruption during the canal relocation project will be short-term, adding the end result will be a long-term (permanent) solution.

Jamie Cox, manager of Gallagher Lake Resort, could not be reached for comment.