-RDOS still considering taking over water system-
OSOYOOS TIMES-September 17, 2008-
By Chad Ingram and Paul EverestrnOsoyoos Times
The all-clear has been given to more than 140 residents of the Osoyoos Irrigation District-East Bench after E. coli bacteria was found in its drinking water supply on Sept. 9.
District board Chair Linda Lobb said the person who tests the chlorine levels in the district's water supply daily found that the chlorinator had run out on Sept. 9 and a test of the water that day indicated the presence of the bacteria.
When the information was passed on to Interior Health following the submission of a water sample from the district to a laboratory in Kelowna, the health authority told Lobb to let district residents know immediately.
We had to do a door-to-door circulation of this notice even though we have a boil-water notice, she said. They insisted. We didn't have a choice.rnThe notice that was sent out to roughly 144 residents read that Interior Health are advising all residents to hard boil water for at least one minute before using it. This advisory is in effect until further notice.rnWhen the water was tested again on Sept. 11, however, no trace of the bacteria was found.
And nobody can figure out why, Lobb said.
A strain of E. coli was responsible for killing seven people in Walkerton, Ont. in 2000 after the town's water supply was contaminated from agricultural runoff.
Lobb added that these sorts of problems end up happening several times a year in the East Bench because the water system is 40 years old and needs retooling to meet Interior Health's new 4-3-2-1-0 Drinking Water safety requirements.
The area has been on a boil-water notice since April.
Lobb said the district has approached the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) about taking over the system and the RDOS is currently considering that proposal.
One East Bench resident said he'd like to see the RDOS do something about the problems with the district's drinking water system immediately.
We are very upset, said Elmar Singer, a resident of 37th Street. We want the regional district to step up and do something.
While residents in the area are inhabitants of the RDOS, their water is supplied through the irrigation district.
It supplies water to approximately 130 residences and 40 agricultural properties, according to the Okanagan Basin Water Board.
RDOS Area A Director Mark Pendergraft said the RDOS is working with the irrigation district towards a solution and has applied for a grant from the provincial and federal governments that would go towards upgrading the district's water purification system.
They have always had problems with the chlorination system, Pendergraft said. In essence, there isn't a whole lot we can do about it at the moment.
Pendergraft said he expected the RDOS should hear back regarding its grant application by late winter or early spring.
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