Expected cost of North Westside drinking water pipeline balloons to $23M

[Castanet News]

A long-discussed proposal to improve drinking water quality on North Westside of Okanagan Lake has gotten a lot more expensive. The Regional District of Central...

[moeyou]

I am very pleased West Kelowna incorporated in 2007 as Westside District Municipality and was officially re-named West Kelowna in 2009. With the recent project expenditures ballooning where the City of West Kelowna continues to refuse to say if it expects the estimated cost of $22.8 million for the city hall cost to increase, plus the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant increase by $26 million to 75 million. Add those deficits to the underfunded infrastructure required due to the extensive growth of West Kelowna the residents can expect substantial tax increases for many years.

[energy guy]

I cant believe that when a municipality is involved in a project costs double and triple before the project is even started. Perhaps should go back to the drawing board and see if they can get those costs under control.

[S_Michael]

This absolutely disgusting. How are we supposed to afford almost $100 more a month over our already expensive water? I simply use an Reverse Osmosis system and have zero issues with drinking our water year round. And it only costs $120 a year in filters. The RDCO needs to get their head out of their butts and realize we need to find more affordable solutions. This is just not right.

[GordonH]

I cant believe that when a municipality is involved in a project costs double and triple before the project is even started. Perhaps should go back to the drawing board and see if they can get those costs under control.

Do not want to derail this thread, 500 million dollars project ballooned to 3.86 billion.
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/it-s-disgusting-o ... -1.6823798

It’s interesting how water and sewage projects tend to balloon in size.

[RB021]

In 2007 residents on the Westside voted on whether they wanted to merge with the City of Kelowna or incorporate as their own municipality. Incorporating was the far more expensive option even before inflation is factored in due the cost of creating a municipality from the ground up. The voters chose to incorporate and the resulting bills have been piling up. What I find interesting is that many of the impassioned voters that chose to incorporate are now the same ones that are livid about the cost associated with creating their new municipality. Talk about a wake-up call.

[Roadhog]

They can't blame this on inflation, it was only 3.9% in 2023 and about 2.5% this year. It looks more like straightforward gouging

[Babba_not_Gump]

I cant believe that when a municipality is involved in a project costs double and triple before the project is even started. Perhaps should go back to the drawing board and see if they can get those costs under control.

Do not want to derail this thread, 500 million dollars project ballooned to 3.86 billion.
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/it-s-disgusting-o ... -1.6823798

It’s interesting how water and sewage projects tend to balloon in size.

Thanks for quoting that disaster Gordon. It is typical of amateurs overseeing municipal capital projects.
We face the same potential disaster in Kamloops with our councillors drooling over their desire to turn $275 MILLION in two projects into $350 MILLION, $450 MILLION, $600 MILLION of over budget spending.

God help us all.

[mcdas]

If I had a well I would be responsible for all the treatment of my water. The urban solution to treating all the water we use seems seems overboard. Water the grass with drinking water? This isn't grey water either.
Where is the pipeline route? Through the rock or road? I hope we get a new road out of this? What about the other water users along the way? can they contribute when they attach and we get compensated? How about in the lake like other utilities? If it leaked it wouldn't be a disaster would it, in the lake? If the pipeline sprung a leak what would the solution be? Calgary summer of 2024??? 10 km of single point of failure???