Water quality in Lake Country

[rlconzatti]

Hi! I would really like someone to enlighten me on an issue of water quality we are having this year.
Last year by this time our water was reletively "clear". This year it continues to be "pee"yellow! I also understand we are on "a continued boil water advisory"! This is ludicrous! Just wondering why?! We are up by Davidson Rd School.

Again...normally even with recent storms...la la la...excuses etc....we have storms every year, but by this time usually runoff is done and the box on the hill is usually not full and empty. Usually the water is clear...so why is it not this year...what brain storm or miraculous deed has occurred?

Thank you in advance!
rlconzatti

[Oxl3y]

Discoloration of the water comes from tannins that leak out of organic matter. These are difficult to remove even with an advanced water treatment facility. From what I understand lake country water comes from beaver lake then is chlorinated. For whatever reason it must have a higher than normal organic load at the moment.

The tannins also make it tougher to chlorinate the water as they use up some of your disinfection so they could either shock load the water with a ton of chlorine or use a normal amount and put out a boil water advisory. Shock loading could work but more chlorine means more chlorine byproducts (THMs) that are carcinogens plus people would probably start complaining about the taste if a lot more chlorine was used.

[rlconzatti]

Thank you for your reply...however they say that this will not improve and we are on a "boil water advisory" until we are hooked up to a new treatment facility. Does anyone know when this will be?

So we are to pay for water that is not fit to drink...unless it is boiled...for an undetermined length of time!

So what date will the change over be done so that we may ALL have proper drinking water?
rlconzatti

[Rwede]

Residential customers should be on the clear Okanagan Lake source, but DLC *bleep* about the cost to pump it, and relies on yellow agricultural water that falls for free down the hill from Beaver Lake to feed its ratepayers.

Perhaps if the DLC didn't waste money taking community groups to the Supreme Court there would be money in the budget to pump potable water to ratepayers.

[RVThereYet]

We too are on the "Oceola Tea" source currently, Davidson Road area. The water is dreadful, not good enough to drink out of the tab, plus it stains the toilet bowls and bathtubs etc. We end up buying our "dinking water" as we can't be bothered to boil the tab water, as it will still be brown even after being boiled. I have noticed a few times this year, even during the traditional run off period, that the water all of a sudden will be crystal clear for a few days and then just as quickly as it cleared up, it will be back to the brown crap we are being made to accept as our "drinking" water. I suspect that when that happened we were switched over to the OK Lake source for a few days for whatever reason and then back to Beaver Lake source. OK Lake water is clear and clean and okay to drink without having to boil it. Why should we even have to put up with the other crap that flows from our pipes just to save a few $ on having to pump it?

[rlconzatti]

Hi!

I agree with your post...with respect to it being clear for a couple of days even during run off and then back to the oceala tea. We have lived here since 1991 and at one point I took a bucket of water with sludge into the Regional District and they said to me, "it's chlorinated...it's ok to drink". I told them that I work in the hospital and if my kidneys had to filter out all that sludge...no wonder that cancer is rampant! Our poor systems have to filter out all that crap!

I haven't seen it as bad as it has been this year...put us over onto the other system and LEAVE US ON IT! We pay the taxes! I buy bottled water and have since the day I took the bucket in to them! To bath in that crap makes me think we come out dirtier than when we got in...it is a crying shame! They continue to build more homes too! I wonder what water they will be hooked up to?! Our water is going to be metered too do to "our water shortage"! I would just like to know if ANYONE knows when all this is going to change and we will have decent water again that we are paying for!?
rlconzatti

[Oxl3y]

Pumping water costs a lot of money, if they were to switch to Okanagan lake as a primary source your rates would increase guaranteed. Also when using the beaver lake source the DLC quite ingeniously uses turbine generators to drop the pressure of the water coming down from the mountain so they generate power from energy that would have just been wasted in a normal pressure reducing station. The power they generate would mean at least some form of cost reduction to you as well so switching to Okanagan lake would eliminate that benefit.

I would just look into getting an in home R/O filter installed or start demanding a change from the district while accepting that it will mean a potentially steep rate increase.

[bidwell2]

If you have questions direct them to the engineering dept. or infrastructure at the DLC. Contact emails are on the website. They are actually very informative and quick to get back to you (usually same day). I have dealt with them a few times over the past couple of years on water issues (not on quite the same subject but it all boils down to water delivery and quality, excuse the pun).

There is also the water master plan available online (the DLC website or google it). It is very detailed and shows all the upgrades (and costs) over the next dozen years or so.

Having said that, if you expect the DLC to deviate at all from their policy or plan, forget it. The staff have a cash for life job and are not going to jeopardize that by going to bat for one person, not even a little bit.

If it is a real problem experienced by a number of people, then get a petition going and present it to DLC. With enough petitioners it takes the heat off the DLC (and especially off of a single staff member) and makes it more of a 'the public at large wants this so we need to consider it' issue.

In my own case, as I said a very informative lot, but I was less than impressed with the ability of the DLC to take real action when required.

[james-d]

Like most Canadians ,We are going to complain about this on this forum,and thats as far as it goes. I for one pay 700.00 a year for my residential water and know for a fact the lake country sqaunders my tax dollars, How about yours.?

[bidwell2]

I actually pestered the DLC a few times and went about as far as I could with them concerning the issue I have. The next stage for me is to write to the MLA and MP. I think the more the merrier ie a petition (or at least you will get attention). The last time some of the DLC staff was out at my house to talk about my situation I got pretty miffed because they were trying to make out like I'm a chronic complainer, even though I've lived here 20 years and have never approached them before last year. That's why I was dissatisfied, and at that time I got the impression they didn't want to upset anybody. The issue I had was agricultural land that is not used for agriculture, but for the owners best attempt at creating a lake. Meanwhile as pointed out I pay $700/year for the piddling amount I use, and that is still going up for the next couple years at least. There are some policies passed recently that will combat that sort of thing, but no enforcement for at least 3 years, which I found pretty odd. I was also told that the public water systems in Lake Country are in great shape, always have been, always will be, and there is plenty of water to waste so don't I worry my little head. I told them they are using a pretty crappy business model if spiralling water rates = a robust water system.

[metallica]

Pumping water costs a lot of money,

Yes it does. I live one the flats and when they ran the sewer and water down Bottom Wood Lake they ran the sewer and not the water. We only have three homes at the end of the road and it would have cost more than three homes hooking up to their water. (Mayor at the time Rolly Hein)I burned out 3 pumps because of a person who has a hay field and put in a well and drained the whole area. I had a well drilled and have never been without water since unless the power fails .Water is good and not Sunky like it used to be. Do not trust the DLC to help you in any way shape or form.

[bidwell2]

Just tell the DLC your chickens have stopped laying and you should make it all the way to the Supreme Court.

[hid]

Why is this STILL an issue? Recently moved into the area, and no one warned us about the water situation. I’m feeling a lot of ‘buyers remorse’. This is brutal. It’s 2021 for god sake. Can we do something? Can we demand clean water?

[Fancy]

Maybe attend a council meeting or contact them and ask?

[77TA]

I feel lucky that I am on the OK Lake source. It seems Carrs Landing and other areas are often on advisories of some sort. Almost as bad as West K.