Piping Smith Creek?

[Neroicco]

Obviously we want to get the road reopened asap but surely there is a better solution to piping the creek!? When so many communites are spending large amounts of energy and cash to uncover and restore urban waterways it would be a great shame to see it piped all the way down Gellatly.

http://www.districtofwestkelowna.ca/index.aspx?page=19&recordid=1565&returnURL=%2findex.aspx

Gellatly Road Slope Failure Update Posted Date: 5/12/2014 1:30 PM .For Immediate Release
May 12, 2014

LOCAL STATE OF EMERGENCY CALLED
FOR GELLATLY ROAD SLOPE FAILURE

Mayor Doug Findlater declared a Local State of Emergency May 12 for the Gellatly Road slope failure. Gellatly Road, from approximately Witt Road to Angus Drive, was closed May 2 due to erosion of the bank on the west side of the road, adjacent to Smith Creek.

The District has received confirmation of $440,250 in funding to come from the Province of BC through Emergency Management BC, with the support of the Regional Emergency Program, to conduct emergency repairs to the roadway. Recognizing that the District had planned to upgrade this section of Gellatly Road in 2015, the municipality is working cooperatively with the Province on this emergency construction, and will contribute $1.3 million in order to conduct repair and upgrade works at the same time.

The Local State of Emergency was called in order for the municipality to access the powers authorized in Section 12 and 13 of the BC Emergency Program Act. The slope failure has put the roadway at risk, which is a transit and emergency services route, and also a nearby water main, a gravity sewer main (owned by Regional District of Central Okanagan) and private utility infrastructure. A geotechnical report indicates there is high probability that additional erosion will occur and that stabilization measures should be carried out immediately in order to protect the public and the existing embankment and roadway as well as buried and overhead utilities.

Emergency works will begin immediately starting with the temporary relocation of the sewer line. Works will involve either [bthe installation of a culvert for Smith Creek to flow through[/b] or placement of rip rap armor along either side of the channel, depending on approvals from the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The District expects the work to be done within five weeks

[logman]

Do you want to know why the city is stalling?!?!!!! 24 hour flaggers. Really? The city is waiting until the bill gets high enough that the province kicks in. The long term is to pipe the creek. Shame on them. It's all about provincial money right now. I am disgusted how the west kelowna council is dealing with this.

[logman]

I am still fuming. Maybe. 100 grand to fix this in a week. It's embarrassing

[Neroicco]

From the announcment sounds like they have the cash and intend to have it fixed one way or another in 5 weeks.

[logman]

Why Are they sitting on it for weeks? Welcome to make It a provincial issue.

[Anonymous123]

I'd like to know who designed the water and sewer for that section. Wouldn't it have been better on the other side of the road? Away from the water?

[bystander]

they should hire a bunch of their buddy consultants, call it a master plan, and take a couple of years to think it through, make a policy, etc etc etc. That way, half a million dollars can get spent easy. Oh, and let's hire more staff to manage all the process.

[steve mc]

watermain was installed on the highside of road away from creek by WID smith creek only flowed in the spring the year round flow is from westbank spring it is now a drainage system with the flows from development above with highflow from rain run off the high flow and steep grade this will continue water has high levels of fecal coliform and VOC it is a drainage ditch the WFN development is a major contributer

[kyle123]

Good Morning,

The delay in repair and re-opening has nothing to do with the Contractor on site or the District. All activities regarding watershed into our lake have to be approved by Fisheries. Its not that easy to mobilize heavy equipment onto an eroded side hill with infrastructure in the slope. I am confident that the Contractor the District has hired to do the emergency re-alignment and bank stabilization will be able to do just that - they are the best choice IMO.

Please be patient - when it is finished this roadway will be much safer, that section of roadway was previously tendered as part of the Gellaty beautification project phase 4, connecting phase 3 to Main St. Be prepared for future delays, the final development of this area appears to be nicely thought out by the District Staff - given the budget they had to work within.

Best Regards,

Troy Grover
Project Manager
T-Rex Excavating Ltd

[logman]

Where oh where did the 500,000 dollars go. Poof. Like magic. What a crock. Everyone lining thier pockets with provincial dollars. What a huge scam. Everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves. Including you Troy of T-Rex.

[Zoso]

watermain was installed on the highside of road away from creek by WID smith creek only flowed in the spring the year round flow is from westbank spring it is now a drainage system with the flows from development above with highflow from rain run off the high flow and steep grade this will continue water has high levels of fecal coliform and VOC it is a drainage ditch the WFN development is a major contributer

The flow does continue all year . Some of it used to come from the packing house . Foamy chemical enriched storm water went through the line that goes between the firehall and bmo . The other used to go right through a barn where pens got shovelled out and washed down hill up by smid road . And the springs that come from the WFN developments actually comes from district property on the high side of WFN from under the old garbage dump .it really is westbanks open sewer. As mentioned before when I started this thread called " state of emergency".
Problem could be fixed with 50 grand worth of blast rock but since there are other plans for improvement it's best to whip out the crocodile tears .

[Zoso]

Good Morning,

The delay in repair and re-opening has nothing to do with the Contractor on site or the District. All activities regarding watershed into our lake have to be approved by Fisheries. Its not that easy to mobilize heavy equipment onto an eroded side hill with infrastructure in the slope. I am confident that the Contractor the District has hired to do the emergency re-alignment and bank stabilization will be able to do just that

Any contractor worth their salt could "mobilize " into that situation. The district guys just don't know what they're looking at. They will have all kinds of geotech reports , And engineering . But it still comes down to the know how of the guy in the trench. To gain control of the situation without having the whole thing unravel . It's not going to be any mini hoes and skid steers . They will have to have good insurance as well.