Work on a multi-million dollar upgrade to Greater Vernon’s water system is about to get underway.
Logging will begin this weekend at the site of the Duteau Creek water treatment plant, and it’s anticipated that site grading will start by the middle of next week.
“I am extremely pleased. We’ve been working at this for some time,” said Gary Corner, Greater Vernon Advisory Committee chairman, of the $30 million project.
That is also the view of Jerry Oglow, North Okanagan Regional District chair.
“It’s good that we are on the ground there and moving earth around,” he said.
The facility — which will benefit residents of the former Vernon Irrigation District — has been proposed for a number of years, but construction was delayed while an environmental assessment was done to ensure funding from the federal government materialized. Approvals were also needed from the Okanagan and Splatsin Indian bands.
Staff touched base with the contractor Wednesday to make sure everything is in place for the site grading to start.
“We want to get the site contracting underway before the soil freezes up. It’s a two-month contract,” said Bill Di Pasquale, project manager.
With site preparations about to begin, the next step for the North Okanagan Regional District is to go to general tender for the actual construction project by the end of October.
It’s hoped that the contract can be awarded by the end of this year, and the new facility could be completed by the end of April 2010. That timeline is good news for elected officials.
“The rural areas need an idea of when we can get some clean water,” said Stan Field, director for BX-Silver Star.
But the politicians and the public are being cautioned not to become too focused on the April 2010 date.
“The start up of plants don’t always run 100 per cent when the buttons are pushed so we need to be patient,” said Di Pasquale.
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Hopefully, the bids for the contract will come in within the allocated funds. Otherwise the new set of politicians will have to find the funds for the difference.
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