Water Quality and Notifications

The City of West Kelowna uses multiple barriers at the Rose Valley and Powers Creek Water Treatment Plants to provide safe drinking water. The plants’ processes include coagulation, flocculation, dissolved air flotation, filtration, UV disinfection and chlorine or hypochlorite. 

Key treatments for both plants include:

• Removing algae through Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) filters and further filtration to reduce organics and improve the taste and odour of drinking water.
• Addressing Viruses, bacteria, and parasites through ultraviolet disinfection and hypochlorite treatment at final stage of the process. This may lead to some residents noticing a chlorine smell.

An added treatment for Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant includes removing manganese through chlorine or permanganate pre-treatments. This process requires balancing pre-treatment levels, depending on manganese concentrations.

The distribution system includes the network of watermains, pump stations, reservoirs, pressure-reducing stations, valves, hydrants, and other infrastructure that delivers treated drinking water from treatment plants to homes, businesses, schools, health-care facilities, and other customers throughout the community.

A distribution system-related water quality advisory, boil water notice, or other public notification may be issued in consultation with Interior Health when there is a risk that water quality has been compromised or when system integrity cannot be fully assured. Situations that may require an advisory include:

• Emergency watermain breaks
  • Watermain failures can result in a temporary loss of pressure, increasing the potential for contamination to enter the system.
  • Advisories are typically limited to the affected pressure zone, street, subdivision, or neighborhood.
• Watermain flushing operations
  • Flushing is conducted to maintain water quality and remove accumulated sediment from watermains.
  • The high flow rates and velocities generated during flushing can temporarily disturb sediment within the distribution system, causing discoloured water and temporary water quality concerns.
  • For more information visit our Watermain Flushing page.
• Authorized hydrant use
  • Hydrants may be used for emergency fire protection, street sweeping, sewer cleaning, construction dust control, and other approved operational activities.
  • Sudden, high-volume water withdrawals can affect system pressures and water quality in localized areas.
• Unauthorized or unpermitted hydrant use
  • Unauthorized hydrant operation can create pressure fluctuations and increase the risk of contamination entering the distribution system.
  • If you suspect unauthorized hydrant use, contact Public Works - Utilities at 778-797-2246 immediately.
• Planned maintenance and repair work
  • Maintenance activities such as valve replacements, service installations, infrastructure upgrades, reservoir maintenance, and system repairs may require temporary service interruptions or precautionary measures to protect public health.
• Power outages or mechanical failures
  • Failures involving pumps, control systems, backup power supplies, or other critical infrastructure may reduce water pressure or affect system operation, potentially requiring a precautionary advisory.
• Infrastructure tampering, vandalism, or security incidents
  • Unauthorized access, tampering, vandalism, or suspicious activity involving reservoirs, pump stations, treatment facilities, control systems, or other secure water infrastructure may require a precautionary advisory while the system is assessed and water quality is verified.
  • If you witness tampering, vandalism, or unauthorized entry in progress, call 911 immediately.
  • If you suspect tampering or unauthorized access has occurred, contact Public Works - Utilities at 778-797-2246 so the incident can be investigated. The RCMP will be notified when appropriate.
• Other unforeseen emergencies
  • Natural disasters, flooding, vehicle impacts, construction incidents, or other unexpected events that may affect the safety, quality, or reliability of the drinking water system could result in an advisory until the system has been evaluated and confirmed safe.

Continuous Water Quality Monitoring

In addition to routine water quality sampling, preventive maintenance, and operational inspections, the City utilizes online water quality analyzers and monitoring equipment that operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the water system. These systems continuously monitor key water quality and operational parameters.

The monitoring equipment is integrated into the City's Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which provides real-time data, trending, and alarm notifications to Operations staff. This allows operators to quickly identify abnormal conditions, equipment malfunctions, pressure fluctuations, water quality changes, or potential security-related incidents.

In addition to the SCADA data staff monitor, a set grab sample schedule to confirm the data in the field is done on a weekly and monthly basis.

This continuous monitoring capability often provides early warning of developing issues, enabling corrective action to be taken before water quality objectives or regulatory limits are approached or exceeded. Combined with regular laboratory testing and field inspections, these systems provide an additional layer of protection to help ensure the continued delivery of safe, reliable drinking water and protect public health.

A water quality advisory is issued whenever drinking water does not meet:

1. The federal Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water.
2. The provincial Drinking Water Protection Regulation.

Interior Health’s Drinking Water for Everyone website provides information on:

1.  Types of advisories
2. Reasons for advisories

In consultation with Interior Health, precautionary advisories are issued for sudden or planned events, that may stir up sediment that settled in the pipes before the treatment plants were built, such as a watermain break or watermain flushing. See the answer on the distribution system and what causes water quality advisories.

Contact us at utilities@westkelownacity.ca or call us at 778-797-2246 if you notice your tap water is discoloured, if you lose service, if pressure suddenly becomes extremely low, if you see a watermain break or if you notice someone tampering with water infrastructure, or any other water-related requests. If calling after hours, dial option 1 to reach the on-call operator.

By contacting us first, we can prioritize issues and resolve them faster and, if an advisory is needed, we can notify customers as soon as possible. 

If an advisory is required, the City of West Kelowna, in consultation with Interior Health, will:

1. Notify eSubscribers and the media.
1. Sign up at westkelownacity.ca/subscribe to receive notifications.
2. If the area is isolated because of something such as an emergency water main break, operators may instead notify residents by going door to door. If the impacted area is large or expands, and going door to door cannot be done quickly, the City will use its notification systems.
3. If work is planned, operators may notify residents by sending a letter in advance of scheduled maintenance.
2. Post information on our website on our News page and Water Quality and Notifications page.
3. Post information on our social media feeds – Facebook, Instagram, and X.
4. Update our interactive map so residents can see if their address is in the advisory area. 
5. Provide an alternative source of water at the bulk filling station at Shannon Lake and Asquith Roads. Bring clean bottles for filling.

Manganese is an essential, naturally occurring element found in air, food, water, soil and rocks. If manganese exceeds 0.02 milligrams per litre it can start to colour water a yellowish brown.

Manganese dissolves naturally into our upland water sources from minerals.

Manganese settles and more enters the drinking water system from the Rose Valley source water during seasonal turnovers in late spring/early summer and early fall and when drought and high use decrease reservoir levels.

Health Canada’s levels for manganese in drinking water are:

• A maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) of 0.12 milligrams per litre.
• An aesthetic objective (AO) for manganese of 0.02 milligrams per litre.

Health Canada states that drinking water that contains high levels of manganese, even for a short time, can be a health risk to infants. As a precaution, parents are advised not to use tap water to reconstitute formula when there is discoloured water. See Health Canada’s guidance for information.

Water is pre-treated with permanganate or chlorine to precipitate the manganese which allows the rest of the treatment process to help remove most manganese. Water then goes through coagulation, flocculation, dissolved air flotation, filtration, and ultraviolet disinfection and hypochlorite treatment in Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant. These stages of the multi-treatment process further reduce manganese and also remove algae, bacteria, organics, parasites and sediment to provide water that meets Health Canada guidelines and provincial regulations. The treated water is sampled and tested onsite at key intervals throughout the day and in the distribution network with online water quality monitoring and scheduled grab sampling / verification testing.

As the commissioning of the pre-treatment process continues, adjustments are being made to account for changing raw source water conditions in the reservoir, including manganese fluctuations. Residual amounts of manganese may precipitate and cause discolouration in some pipes in some parts of the system. Please contact Public Works – Utlities at utilities@westkelownacity.ca or 778-797-2246.

Running your tap water for 20 minutes will not usually result in an improved aesthetic look of the water. The only remedy within the distribution system is watermain flushing and turning over the water in the reservoirs to replace any discoloured water that remains in the system.

The City employs a multi-faceted approach to eliminate manganese within the distribution system, with a focus on removing accumulated sediments, minimizing manganese accumulation, and maintaining water quality throughout the distribution network. This includes:

Watermain Flushing Program

The City's watermain flushing program has been ongoing prior to the commissioning of the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant. The program was initially implemented to remove settled solids that accumulated in the distribution system over decades of receiving unfiltered source water.

Since the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant began operation, the City has completed two complete iterations of the watermain flushing program for the Rose Valley Water Service Area. These flushing activities have significantly reduced the amount of accumulated sediment within the watermains and continue to be an effective tool for maintaining water quality. Additional flushing will continue to be undertaken as needed to remove oxidized manganese deposits resulting from occasional manganese breakthrough events at the treatment plant or from residual deposits that remain within the distribution system.

More information can be found on the Watermain Flushing page.

Reservoir Cleaning and Maintenance

The City conducts regular cleaning and inspection of distribution system reservoirs to remove accumulated sediment, including precipitated manganese and other settled materials. These maintenance activities help prevent the re-suspension of deposits into the water system and support the delivery of high-quality drinking water to customers.

Reservoir Mixing and Water Quality Optimization

The City is continually evaluating and improving reservoir mixing systems to reduce water age, maintain disinfectant residuals, and minimize conditions that may contribute to manganese deposition or water quality degradation. Improved mixing promotes consistent water quality throughout storage facilities, helps maintain chlorine residuals, and reduces the potential for sediment accumulation.

Continuous Monitoring and Operational Response

Operations staff continuously monitor water quality throughout the treatment and distribution systems using online analyzers and the City's SCADA system. Parameters such as free chlorine residual, turbidity, pH, flow, pressure, and reservoir levels are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This monitoring allows operators to identify changing conditions early and implement corrective actions when necessary to maintain water quality and protect public health.

Together, treatment plant optimization, routine watermain flushing, reservoir cleaning, improved reservoir mixing, and continuous monitoring form the foundation of the City's strategy for managing manganese within the distribution system and ensuring the continued delivery of safe, reliable drinking water to the community.

Seasonal turnovers and/or low water levels in Rose Valley Reservoir may result in fluctuations of manganese in the water.

The City of West Kelowna adjusts treatment operations to respond to fluctuations in the raw source water from Rose Valley Reservoir. These fluctuations are being caused more frequently and intensely by:

• Climate change including lower snowpacks, earlier freshet and lower precipitation which draw down the reservoir faster.
• Seasonal trends including extreme heat, high winds, and intense rains falling less frequently between lengthening stretches of drought.
• Longer and more intense wildfire seasons, with shortening spans between occurrences in our watersheds.

Yes. The City of West Kelowna posts monthly data on the Water Data page, as soon as possible, typically within 10 to 15 business days after the end of the previous month.

Metallurgical testing is required and completed quarterly and results are reported as soon as available and included in the subsequent monthly report.

An annual report is required and posted online, typically within four to five months after the end of the preceding calendar year.

No. The City of West Kelowna will no longer be undertaking individual residential water quality testing related to manganese and water discolouration concerns. Sampling conducted within private homes is subject to numerous variables associated with individual plumbing systems and, therefore, does not provide an accurate representation of water quality within the City's distribution network. 

To assess and manage system-wide water quality, the City performs regular monitoring at representative locations throughout the Rose Valley Water Service Area. These monitoring practices are consistent with industry best practices and provide the most reliable data for evaluating the performance of the distribution system. With more than 6,000 customers served by the system, individual property testing is neither representative of overall system conditions nor a cost-effective use of public resources.

Results from weekly sampling representing all areas of the Rose Valley service area, as well as the Powers Creek service area can be found on the Water Data page in the monthly reporting.