More than 130 property owners who live in the southern half of Irrigation District 8, located north of Town of Osoyoos town limits, will soon be hooked up to the municipal water system thanks to $3.7 million infrastructure upgrade.
It was announced last week that the Town of Osoyoos would be receiving a Federal Gas Tax Fund contribution of $2.472 million, which will be spend on the Rural Area Water System Twinning project.
Barry Romanko, the town’s chief administrative officer, announced Monday the town would be contributing $1.25 million to the project, bringing the total budget to $3.723 million.
The project will see roughly 9.3 kilometres of piping hooked up to the town’s municipal water system in an area just north of town in Irrigation District 8, said Romanko.
This project is phase one of five phases of an $11 million project to supply municipal domestic water to 450 users in the Osoyoos rural area.
This $2.472 million will come from the federal Gas Tax Strategic Priorities Grant and the remaining $1.251 million in matching funds will come from the town’s water reserve accounts, said Romanko.
“This is very good news for the community and very good news for water users in Irrigation District 8,” he said.
Once all phases are completed over the next several years, boil water advisories that have become commonplace in this area will be eliminated.
Residents in the Osoyoos rural area are provided domestic water by the Town of Osoyoos from Irrigation Systems 8 and 9, both of which are supplied from intakes in Osoyoos Lake.
A boil water advisory has been imposed annually during the irrigation season (April to October) within the service area of Systems 8 and 9 on advice of the Interior Health Authority (IHA) for the past several years.
The annual boil water advisories date back at least a decade and reflect non-compliance with the IHA drinking water standards.
Drinking water quality related deficiencies include inadequate disinfection, high turbidity and the lack of a second treatment barrier (filtration for surface water sources).
The project objective is to achieve compliance with provincial standards by providing a separate domestic water distribution system in the rural area that will be supplied by groundwater sources through the town’s municipal water system.
The project will also assist in developing municipal level fire protection and includes water meter installation to assist in achieving water conservation goals.
This project will be tendered in the coming weeks with construction scheduled to take place this fall.
Romanko said a special ceremony to mark the importance of this project will be held in the next three or four weeks.
This project is one of the 57 projects that are being funded through the Strategic Priorities Fund under the Federal Gas Tax Fund for 2016. The Union of BC Municipalities administers the Federal Gas Tax Fund in British Columbia in partnership with the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
Each year, the federal government provides over $253 million in indexed funding for local government infrastructure projects across British Columbia through the federal gas tax fund.
The funding can be spent on any eligible project the community prioritizes across a broad range of eligible project categories, or it can be pooled with other communities for regional projects, banked for later priorities or used to pay for financed projects.
“Through the federal gas tax fund, the Government of Canada is allowing communities in B.C. and all across Canada, to make informed decisions about their infrastructure investments and how best to spend federal dollars,” said Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities.
“Community officials are best positioned to identify their specific needs, and the federal gas tax fund supports them in making those strategic investments. These 57 projects will contribute to building the strong, inclusive and sustainable communities Canadians desire to live in.”
Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, echoed the same thoughts.
“These funds will help support the construction of infrastructure improvements that will provide a better standard of living for residents in communities all across B.C.” said Fassbender. “I’m pleased to say that local governments throughout the province are receiving more than $69 million in funding for 27 capital projects through the Federal Gas Tax Fund, which is administered by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and provided by the Government of Canada.”
Mayor Sue McKortoff, in a written statement, said the infrastructure funding is necessary and appreciated.
“The Town of Osoyoos is very pleased to receive a grant to provide Phase 1 of water twinning to the rural Osoyoos area,” she said. “This long-awaited project will assist in providing improved domestic water service to 132 rural users and to assist in developing municipal level fire protection standards.
“The project objective will provide compliance with Interior Health standards and eliminate the need to have annual boil water advisories. We look forward to starting this construction in 2016, with a 2018 completion date.”
Al Richmond, president of the Union of BC Municipalities, said investments will support improved levels of service for facilities in communities throughout B.C.
“The 189 local governments that we represent appreciate the ongoing commitment of the Government of Canada to improving local infrastructure,” said Richmond. “We are also pleased with the valued support provided by the Province of British Columbia to deliver this program.”
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
