Water pipeline cost soars

A long-discussed proposal to improve drinking water quality on North Westside of Okanagan Lake has gotten a lot more expensive.

The Regional District of Central Okanagan board will hear Thursday that planning work is expected to start next year on a unified drinking water system for the chain of small communities on Westside Road.

Killiney Beach and Westshore Estates are now serviced by separate water intakes from Okanagan Lake that sees water chlorinated and not treated any further. Neither system meets B.C.’s water quality standards.

The RDCO also owns and operates the Fintry/Valley of the Sun water distribution system, which draws from two groundwater wells in the Fintry delta. That system meets drinking water objectives without additional treatment, due to its groundwater source.

The regional district is proposing to supply the Killiney Beach and Westshore Estates systems with clean drinking water via a pipeline from the Fintry system.

The project had a cost estimate of $13M in 2022, which has since ballooned to $23M due to inflationary pressures.

Next year, $200,000 has been set aside for the RDCO to advance regulatory approvals and secure a right-of-way for the pipeline. Another $250,000 will be spent in 2026 to complete field investigations and advance design work.

It is hoped grants will be secured to offset some of the spending while the RDCO works to get the project to “shovel ready” status.

The Killiney and Westshore water systems are currently underfunded, and to help pay for the project, annual water rates are expected to increase by $304 and $608, respectively, in 2027.

There are currently 425 parcels serviced by the water system in Killiney and 525 in Westshore Estates.