City OKs takeover of SEKID system

Kelowna city council members emphasize savings from grants

It’s official. The 8,000 people and 3,642 hectares served by the Southeast Kelowna Irrigation District (SEKID) are joining the City of Kelowna water utility in a controversial, $85.9-million deal.

“This is a complicated issue,” said Mayor Colin Basran at Monday’s city council meeting, where final funding and the overall project received the green light with support from the entire council.

“Change is difficult, especially when it comes to Kelowna’s longest-serving industry (agriculture). Not everyone will love these changes, but it’s an important process to go through.”

Farmers who rely on SEKID water to irrigate their orchards, vineyards and other crops will continue to pay the same rate for water as they do now through 2020.

After infrastructure improvements are made, SEKID becomes part of the city system in 2021.

A total of $51.4 million will make sure domestic users in the SEKID system have water that meets Canadian safe drinking water quality standards.

Domestic users will get a supply separate from irrigation.

Currently, and many times in the past, SEKID customers are advised to boil their water if they want to drink it, brush their teeth with it, make drinks or ice cubes, use it to wash fruits and vegetables or make baby formula. Bacteria in the water can cause gastrointestinal problems, especially in the very young or old or those with immunity problems.

SEKID’s source is surface water from Hydraulic Creek, which is more susceptible to bacteria after rain and high flow from snowmelt churn up the creek.

The City of Kelowna’s utility treats water taken from deep in Okanagan Lake.

“This is an integration (of SEKID) with the city system for drinking water,” said Basran.

“It will end the constant water advisories.”

While the costs of the merger are huge, Basran pointed out SEKID would have to pay more to do the upgrades on its own without grant money the city has secured and other city support.

An open house to explain the details and financing of the merger will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday at East Kelowna Hall.

In May 2017, the budget for bringing SEKID and the smaller South Okanagan Mission Irrigation District into the city utility was approved for $63.7 million.

The city secured $43.9 million in grants for the merger from the provincial and federal governments.

The rest of the money was to come from the city and SEKID.

Since then, the amount for the entire project has ballooned to $85.9 million, with construction costs going up and more domestic water demand in Southeast Kelowna.

All the money will go into separating the drinking water system from the irrigation system and construction of a transmission trunk in the South Mission, a large-diameter transmission main, underground transmission and distribution lines, pump stations and reservoirs.

The $22.3-million shortfall will now be made up with $15.3 million coming from city internal financing and a local service charge in Southeast Kelowna, $666,000 from SEKID, $2.4 million from the city’s water utility and $3.8 million from the city’s water quality enhancement fee reserve.

SEKID customers previously were paying $20 a month in additional fees for future infrastructure improvements.

That fee will be $32 until SEKID is fully integrated into the city system in 2021 and $40 thereafter until 2038.

City of Kelowna senior engineer Ron Westlake said those fees would be three times as much without the grant money the city secured.

Overall, rates for domestic water usage will be lower in the future.

“Customers may be shocked by the cost,” said Coun. Ryan Donn, “but the city is playing catch-up with this, and this is what it costs to deliver the clean drinking water people expect.”

Coun. Brad Sieben said the deal gives farmers access to the water they need at constant rates and domestic users will get good-quality drinking water.

Four years ago, this city council made integrating Kelowna’s water supply a priority.

Deals with the the Black Mountain Irrigation District, Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District, Rutland Waterworks and 25 small systems have yet to be made.