Sewage system in good shape, says report

Out of sight, out of mind and in good hands.

The treatment and disposal of sewage isn’t an everyday conversation topic, but Kelowna’s waste-water system has a low public profile because it functions well, city council will hear today.

“By using sound asset management practices, council and the community can be confident that there is a long-term plan to maintain, operate and replace assets and (Kelowna) will continue to receive safe, reliable and environmentally responsible disposal of waste water in the long-term,” reads part of a staff report to council.

Ninety per cent of the system’s assets — its 656 kilometres of mains, 35 lift stations and the treatment plant itself — have more than 40 per cent of their useful life remaining, the report says.

As long as user charges rise at least equal to the inflation rate for the next 20 years, there will be enough money to operate, maintain and expand system capacity as needed, the report says.

Beyond that time frame, however, user charges may have to exceed inflation to pay for the costly replacement of waste-water infrastructure.

The city first began treating sewage in 1913, at the same site where the current facility operates near Okanagan College and Kelowna Secondary School. The cleaned effluent is discharged into the lake, with biosolids trucked to a site south of Vernon for disposal.

About $3.8 million is currently spent annually renewing system components, with that amount forecast to rise to $5 million by 2028.