Water quality advisory elevated to boil water notice

The City of West Kelowna, in consultation with the Interior Health Authority, is elevating the Water Quality Advisory in the Sunnyside/Pritchard System to a Boil Water Notice, effective immediately and until further notice, due to increased turbidity near the intake in Okanagan Lake.

Turbidity affects the performance of the chlorine disinfection process enabling bacteria, viruses and microorganisms to attach themselves to the suspended particles in the turbid water. These particles can interfere with disinfection by shielding the microorganisms from the chlorine.

To determine if you are in the Sunnyside/Pritchard System, view the Water Quality Map at www.westkelownacity.ca/waterquality.

Under a Boil Water Notice all users must use water brought to a rolling boil for one minute or more, or seek an alternative safe source, for brushing teeth, drinking, making baby formula and ice, preparing food and beverages and washing fruits and vegetables.

A safe source of water is available at the bulk filling station at Shannon Lake and Asquith Roads. The water is free throughout the duration of the Boil Water Notice. Please bring clean bottles for filling. The tap is located on the Asquith Road side of the facility. In keeping with COVID-19 guidelines, crews installed a touch free system for filling bottles at the station. Also in keeping with health requirements during COVID-19 users should wash hands regularly, avoid touching their faces and maintain a safe social distance of two meters between themselves and all other users.

The bulk filling station receives water via the state-of-the-art Powers Creek Water Filtration Plant. The City is building a similar plant for the Sunnyside/Pritchard, West Kelowna Estates and Lakeview/Rose Valley Systems. Once the new Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant serves these systems, the treatment process will filter away the turbidity. Crews have broken ground on the plant site and anticipate commissioning the facility in summer 2022.

The Boil Water Notice will remain in effect until further notice. The City of West Kelowna will advise customers as soon as possible when it is able to end the advisory, through the media, via the City’s eNotification system and its Facebook and Twitter feeds and the municipal website at www.westkelownacity.ca/news.

Residents are encouraged to sign up for City eNotifications at www.westkelownacity.ca/subscribe to receive word on Water Quality Advisories and other city news and events.