Premier Christy Clark was in Oliver today to announce more than half a million dollars in funding to help repair Oliver’s damaged irrigation canal. Joining her are Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes and Yvonne Weinert from the Osoyoos Indian Band. Photo by Lyonel Doherty
The BC government is chipping in more than $500,000 to help the Town of Oliver repair a damaged irrigation canal so that farmers are not left high and dry this season.
Premier Christy Clark visited Oliver on Monday to announce the funding to the tune of $525,000 to fix a section of flume that was damaged by a rock slide at Gallagher Lake in January.
A temporary sleeve will be inserted in the canal until a permanent fix is made.
“The most important thing we can do is to make sure our economy is strong and growing,” Clark said, noting that water should be flowing through the canal by mid-April.
Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes recently sent a letter to the province asking for financial assistance, calling the situation a natural disaster for the town and area farmers.
“It seems that when our greater community is facing a crisis or under threat, we can always count on the premier to be there for us,” he said Monday.
But Clark gave all the accolades to Boundary-Similkameen MLA Linda Larson who was a “champion” for the cause.
“Linda is the reason I’m here (in Oliver),” Clark said.
Hovanes agreed, saying Larson immediately began working on the Town’s behalf to get this funding.
“Linda’s tenacity and diligence has brought us here today. Every minister I spoke with and our premier stated that they were at the table because of the hard work of our MLA.”
Larson could not attend Monday’s announcement at the Town hall due to a family commitment.
But she did say that local orchardists and
growers work hard to produce an abundance of high-quality products that are among Canada’s finest.
“This partnership between the Town of
Oliver and the province of British Columbia will ensure that our agricultural future will not be compromised.”
Hovanes talked about the rock slide, noting the original design of the siphon was to bury it deep enough to withstand a rock fall the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.
“I’ve been told the rock that caused the damage was larger than a Volkswagen van!”
The mayor noted that repairing the siphon has proven problematic due to the instability of the rocks above Gallagher Lake. Scaling and blasting work have been done to address this concern.
The Town has allocated $475,000 from its water capital reserve to fix the problem.
Hovanes said if the Town had to bear all of the costs, it would likely have to raise taxes by 40 per cent.
The mayor spoke to local farmers and businesses to find out how the situation would impact them. He noted BC Silviculture reported that its entire 2016 crop would be under threat without access to early irrigation.
A 2012 analysis was undertaken to evaluate the financial impact to the agricultural community if Oliver’s water system was unable to deliver to users. At that time it would have resulted in $30 million in losses to orchards, vineyards and related industries.
The Oliver area is home to more than 30 wineries and produces more than $30
million worth of wine grapes, cherries, peaches, apples and forage crops
each year.
“By repairing and then replacing the damaged pipe, we’re taking immediate action to protect Oliver and the local economy,” Clarke said.
Clarence Louie, chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band, said he was relieved to hear that the province is providing the funding to fix the siphon.
He noted the canal is very important to the
300-acre Nk’mip vineyard and all the other orchards and vineyards in the Oliver area.
By Lyonel Doherty
