— Drainage plan called major improvement for lake —
(OSOYOOS TIMES — Jan. 17, 2007) —
By Lawrence McMahenrnOsoyoos Times
Thanks to the insistence of the Town of Osoyoos, the biggest development project in the community's history will have the added benefit of taking a major step toward cleaning up Osoyoos Lake.
The $62-million Watermark Beach Resort, which Council approved last month for the old packinghouse site at the foot of Main Street, includes a plan for stormwater drainage that those involved say will stem the flow of sediment and pollutants that now goes directly into the lake during rainstorms.
Currently, storm drains underneath Main Street take all the rainwater runoff from Main Street and the side-streets that flow into it, all the way from the top of Main Street in the area of Smitty's and Tim Hortons and channels it down to a pipe outlet beside the Seniors' Centre at Gyro Beach, which deposits the runoff directly into the lake.
That stormwater has everything from petroleum, grit and dirt, to anti-freeze and a whole range of contaminants “ and most of it exits straight into the lake, according to Lionel Dallas, Director of the Osoyoos Lake Water Quality Society, a non-profit group that has been working since the early 1990s to clean up the lake.
With the Watermark's strategic location near that outflow of all the water runoff that comes down both on the surface of Main Street and in the storm drains for many blocks, Town staff and Council felt they could seize the opportunity presented by this major construction project to address the long-standing drainage problem.
They worked with the Watermark developers and have agreed on plans for improvements to the current drainage situation, with much of the cost to be borne by the Watermark.
Helen Koning, the Town's Chief Administrative Officer, says plans for both the onsite and offsite management of storm water drainage have been received from the Watermark.
The onsite portion of the stormwater management plan for the proposed Watermark Beach Resort is made up of a series of catch basins and piped systems designed to collect and convey storm water to a large underground holding tank, where it will be slowly discharged to the ground, Koning says.
The offsite stormwater management plan includes the installation of a stormceptor to be installed on the Town's existing stormwater infrastructure under Park Place. The stormceptor will be capable of removing suspended particles and contaminants. Following treatment, the stormwater will be diverted to an infiltration pipe and discharged to the ground.rnLionel Dallas says, This is a major improvement that will take care of a lot of the problem.rnMayor John Slater agrees that this stormwater drainage plan is a huge plus of this (Watermark) development. He says Main Street has been the single largest generalized source of stormwater drainage into the lake, with all the unknown contaminants that involves “ and taking care of it is a major step in the right direction for Osoyoos.
In fact, he says, it's an example of municipal action that he thinks communities in the rest of the Okanagan Valley should follow.
Glen Harris, spokesman for the Watermark development, says the resort is paying for more than half of the stormwater drainage improvements both to be a good corporate citizen and because it's in all of our collective interests to ensure that the lake quality is maintained and improved.rnHe notes that since his group is building a beachfront resort, people have to continue to want to enjoy the beach and the lake.
Harris adds that while communities everywhere used to direct stormwater, untreated, directly into nearby lakes, rivers or oceans “ that's the way it was done “ they are now changing to the stormceptor treatment system.
He says the $100,000 cost for purchase and installation of the stormceptor under the Park Place roadway will be shared 50/50 by the Town and the Watermark. In addition, the Watermark will pay about $50,000 for a system of pipes from the Park Place area southward across the Watermark property, that will serve as drainage for any overflow from the stormceptor at times of extremely heavy rainfall runoff. And, of course, the Watermark is paying the full costs of the stormwater system under its own building.
Harris says heavy equipment and trailers will begin moving onto the Watermark site this week and construction will begin before the end of January. Construction is expected to take about 22 months, with completion by about November 2008.
While the project's onsite stormwater management system will be installed early in the construction period, Harris says the major stormceptor system will be installed under the Park Place roadway near the end of construction, when road rebuilding and other finishing touches are being done.
The Watermark will include a 123-unit, four-storey condo hotel, a 200-person convention facility, street-level spots for retail stores, a spa, a restaurant, five three-storey, six-unit townhouse buildings, and underground parking.
It includes a public walkway along the waterfront, public beach access, and agreement from the developer to not build a dock.
