Boil Water Notice issued for West Kelowna Estates System

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2020

Due to the increased Okanagan Lake elevation and the potential risk of contamination to the treated water supply, the City of West Kelowna, in consultation with Interior Health, is taking precautionary measures and issuing a Boil Water Notice for the West Kelowna Estates System.

This notice is an escalation from the Water Quality Advisory issued May 9, which City staff enacted, in consultation with health officials, due to elevated turbidity levels in the lake. 

To determine if you are in the West Kelowna Estates System, please view our Water Quality Map at westkelownacity.ca/waterquality.

Under a Boil Water Notice, all users must use water brought to a rolling boil for one minute or more, or seek an alternative safe source for brushing teeth, drinking, making baby formula and ice, preparing food and beverages and washing fruits and vegetables.

A safe source of water is available at the bulk filling station at Shannon Lake and Asquith Roads. The water is free throughout the duration of the Boil Water Notice. Please bring clean bottles for filling. The tap is located on the Asquith Road side of the facility. In keeping with COVID-19 guidelines, crews installed a touch free system for filling bottles at the station. Also in keeping with health requirements during COVID-19 users should wash hands regularly, avoid touching their faces and maintain a safe social distance of two meters between themselves and all other users.

The bulk filling station receives water via the state-of-the-art Powers Creek Water Filtration Plant. The City is building a similar plant for the West Kelowna Estates, Sunnyside/Pritchard and Lakeview/Rose Valley Systems. Crews have broken ground on the plant site and anticipate commissioning the facility in summer 2022.

The Boil Water Notice will remain in effect until further notice. The City of West Kelowna will advise customers as soon as possible when it is able to end the advisory, through the media, via the City’s e-Notification system and its Facebook and Twitter feeds and the municipal website at westkelownacity.ca/news. Residents are encouraged to sign up for City e-Notifications at westkelownacity.ca/subscribe to receive word on Boil Water Notices and other city news.