Water Quality Advisory Rescinded for Lakeview/Rose Valley Water System

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 14, 2020 

The City of West Kelowna, in consultation with Interior Health, has rescinded the Water Quality Advisory for the Lakeview/Rose Valley Water System. The City issued the advisory July 15 due to high turbidity registering at the reservoir which also impacted the distribution network.

A Water Quality Advisory remains in effect until further notice for the Pritchard-Sunnyside system due to turbidity in the lake. These systems use chlorine for disinfection. Turbidity affects the performance of the chlorine disinfection process because bacteria, viruses and microorganisms can attach themselves to suspended particles in the turbid water. These particles can interfere with disinfection by shielding the microorganisms from the chlorine.

To determine, which water system you are in, please view our Water Quality Advisory Map at westkelownacity.ca/waterquality or refer to your latest West Kelowna utility bill.

During a Water Quality Advisory, children, the elderly and the immune compromised should use water brought to a rolling boil for more than one minute, or find a safe alternative source. This applies for drinking water, brushing teeth, making baby formula, food, beverages and ice and washing fruits and vegetables.

The bulk filling station at Shannon Lake and Asquith Roads is a safe alternative source and remains open for Pritchard-Sunnyside customers. The water is free throughout the duration of the Water Quality Advisory. Please bring clean bottles for filling. The tap is located on the Asquith Road side of the station. In keeping with COVID-19 guidelines, crews installed a touch free system for filling bottles. During COVID-19 users should also wash hands regularly, avoid touching their faces and maintain a safe social distance of two metres between themselves and all other users.

The station receives water from the state of the art Powers Creek Water Treatment Plant. The City of West Kelowna is building a similar, high capacity plant for the Lakeview-Rose Valley, Pritchard-Sunnyside and West Kelowna Estates Systems to resolve Water Quality Advisories and Boil Water Notices. The City will complete the plant in 2022. For more information, please visit westkelownacity.ca/rvwtp.

The City of West Kelowna will advise Pritchard-Sunnyside customers as soon as possible when it is able to end the advisory for that system. Residents are encouraged to sign up for City eNotifications at westkelownacity.ca/subscribe to receive word on Water Quality Advisories and other city news and events.