Days of Oceola Tea numbered
New pumping station, reservoir will bring an end to seasonally cloudy water for citizens of Lake Country
Clearer water from Okanagan Lake will reach more Lake Country households when a $7-million infrastructure improvement project is completed next year.
The plan, which involves construction of a new pumping station and a reservoir, will connect currently separate water systems in the municipality.
“We want to get more water from Okanagan Lake, which is generally much clearer than water from Beaver Lake, to more homes and businesses in our community,” Mayor James Baker said Sunday.
Water from Beaver Lake turns cloudy during spring runoff, when rapid snowmelt washes organic material into the system. By contrast, water drawn from an intake pipe deep in Okanagan Lake is clear year-round, Baker says.
The water from Beaver Lake so often discolours in the spring that some residents call it “Oceola Tea,” Baker said.
A new reservoir will allow for water from Beaver Lake to settle longer, to improve its clarity before being treated with chlorine and put into the distribution system.
Integration of the separate systems was identified as a priority in a 2011 water master plan done for Lake Country.
The provincial and federal governments will provide $5.8 million for the project. The town’s share is about $1.2 million.
“It’s a particularly generous funding term, because these sorts of projects are usually paid for with a onethird contribution from the feds, the province and the municipality,” Baker said.
Money for the Lake County project, as well as $44 million for water improvement projects in Kelowna and $41 million in West Kelowna, was announced last Friday.
“Developing lasting infrastructure to maintain consistent access to clean drinking water is part of our commitment to community health and sustainability,” Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick said in a government news release.