By Don Urquhart, Times-Chronicle
The Town of Osoyoos is set to undertake a $650,000 water capital project after it was discovered that two check valves on the town’s main 340 South Reservoir are leaking and could fail at any time.
Council voted in favour of including the cost in the Five-Year Financial Plan and to be allocated from the Water Capital Projects Reserve which currently stands at around $1.4 million, according to Jared Brounstein, director of Operational Services on Jan. 11.
Additionally, pre-budget approval was granted in order to complete a final design and start the procurement and construction process for a new above-grade valve chamber and valves.
Two flow control valves, or check valves, are located on the intake and discharge pipe at the South 340 Reservoir in the middle of the golf course.
Due to the construction techniques of the 1960’s, access to the existing check valves does not meet current WorkSafeBC standards for confined space entry and a new above-ground chamber needs to be constructed.
The discovery of the leaking check valves also suggests that the other valves have reached the end of their service lives including four valves that control the drainage of the reservoir, and four valves that control the isolation of the reservoir. As such, all valves will be replaced which requires draining of the reservoir.
Brounstein noted the 340 South Reservoir is the main reservoir for the town, and the two valves “have been leaking for sometime,” he said. In fact, the valves appear to have been leaking for “10-15 years and progressively getting worse,” he added.
Councillor Brian Harvey asked why the issue wasn’t brought up during the budget discussion in October. “It’s been leaking for this long with no contingency what-so-ever and all of a sudden we’re taking $650,000 out of reserves,” Harvey said.
“I believe there was an inspection after the budget was done and that’s when it was discovered, Brounstein said, adding that he can’t speak to why it wasn’t done much earlier given that it had been leaking for over a decade.
Mayor Sue McKortoff asked if there were similar pieces of infrastructure around town of a similar age that could also be problems waiting to happen. Brounstein said these are being checked but the other three reservoirs are not as old, coming in at around mid-90s, late-90s and mid-2000s.
Councillor CJ Rhodes inquired as to the life expectancy of the reservoir to which Brounstein replied that it is “beyond its operational life expectancy.” Typically this type of concrete reservoir has an expected life of 50 years, which puts it at eight years over, he noted.
“The last structural inspection was five or six years ago and it seemed to be in working order. Concrete reservoirs are usually one of the longest lasting reservoirs and if maintained properly they can usually far exceed their operational lifespan.
“We haven’t noticed any cracking or significant movement in the reservoir and it probably could last another 10 or 15 years. We will be draining it if this project goes ahead and that will enable them to do a closer inspection, Brounstein added.
TRUE Consulting, which advised the Town on the issue, recommended the installation of a temporary pumping solution within the 340 North Reservoir to accommodate the updates to the 340 South Reservoir. It also recommended the future relocation of the 402 reservoir booster on the basis that the 340 South Reservoir is likely to need replacement in the future.
Noting the importance of asset management, McKortoff said: “I think we’re just going to have to bite the bullet, I just hope we don’t have any other things show up after work begins.”
The project is slated to be completed by May 15 in time for the start of peak water demand.
