True takeover cost watered down
Costly leaks have been found in 15 per cent of the waterlines leading to homes in South East Kelowna.
Property owners will have an incentive to fix those leaks next year when, for the first time, water meters are activated in the areas.
“It is apparent that numerous leaks exist, with some being quite substantial,” city engineer Brian Beach writes in a report given Monday to Kelowna city councillors.
“Most property owners are unaware of their water consumption (including leaks) until meters are in place,” Beach says.
But even when the meters — 55 per cent of which have now been installed — are activated next year, expectations are that heavy water use will continue in some areas.
“Consumption reductions may take years to be fully realized as we know it takes time to develop a culture of conservation and, ultimately, there will be users that will be willing to pay for significant volumes of water,” Beach says.
A $32 monthly charge paid by Southeast Kelowna residents since 2018 to help fund the new water system will be increased to $40 in January, pending council’s expected approval.
The city’s takeover of the now-defunct Southeast Kelowna Irrigation District has been a costly process, currently pegged at $98 million.
But the construction process is still ongoing, and “final costs” have yet to be calculated, Beach writes in his report.
The $40 monthly project fee will be replaced by a local service area charge in 2022, but that rate has not yet been determined.
The city’s takeover of SEKID has involved, among other things, construction of three new reservoirs, 82 km of new water lines, 12 pressure-reducing stations, and installation of 2,129 new water meters.