Boil water notice downgraded

The City of West Kelowna has downgraded a Boil Water Notice for the Lakeview-Rose Valley System to a Water Quality Advisory, effective immediately.

The Boil Water Notice was required to complete an important construction milestone to tie in a 600 mm main that will eventually connect the Lakeview-Rose Valley System to the future water treatment plant. The work meant water may have entered the system without receiving chlorine disinfection. Without chlorine treatment, disinfection against microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, etc.) will not occur.

Final tests were conducted and results have confirmed the Boil Water Notice can now be downgraded to a Water Quality Advisory. The Water Quality Advisory must remain in effect due to higher than normal turbidity remaining in the system from the seasonal breakdown of algae in the Rose Valley Reservoir. Increased turbidity can affect the chlorine disinfection process because bacteria, protozoa and other microorganisms can attach themselves to suspended particles in the turbid water, shielding them from the chlorine.

In the following weeks, similar tie-in work will be completed on a 750 mm water main to prepare for the eventual connection of the Lakeview-Rose Valley System to the future Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant. The City will issue more information as the date for that work approaches.

The Pritchard-Sunnyside System also remains on a Water Quality Advisory.

To determine if you live in the Lakeview-Rose Valley or Pritchard-Sunnyside System, please see our Water Quality Advisory Map at westkelownacity.ca/waterquality.

Under a Water Quality Advisory, children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, 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, food, ice, and beverages and washing fruits and vegetables.

The bulk filling station at Shannon Lake and Asquith Roads provides a safe, alternative source of drinking water from the state of the art Powers Creek Water Filtration Plant that uses multiple methods of treatment, which the City will replicate at the Rose Valley treatment facility when completed in 2022. Customers can use the touch-free filling station free during the Water Quality Advisory. Bring clean bottles for filling. The tap is located on the Asquith Road side of the facility. In keeping with COVID-19 guidelines, users should not touch the station nor their faces, sanitize their hands before and after using the station, and maintain a safe distance of two meters between themselves and others.

To receive Boil Water Notices, Water Quality Advisories and updates regarding the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant, please sign up for our e-news at westkelownacity.ca/subscribe.