An unwelcome stench has made a return to the North Okanagan, and residents aren't happy about it.
The smell is coming from a bio-solids composting facility run by the City of Kelowna, but despite the millions of dollars they've spent trying to address the problem, it doesn't appear to be going away.
Residents along Kalamalka Lake View Drive in Vernon said it has smelled like a sewage tank in the area all summer long.
The regional compost facility a milometer away is to blame for the stench.
The facility, which composts human waste and turns it into soil conditioner, has been fielding complaints since in opened in 2006.
Residents complain they can’t sit outside or keep their windows open at night, some have even said their eyes burn and skin gets irritated when it gets really bad.
Last year, Kelowna spent seven and a half million dollars upgrading the facility to address the smell.
Neighbors said it has cut down on the total number of days the smell is present, but nothing has been done about the severity.
The smell is coming from a bio-solids composting facility run by the City of Kelowna, but despite the millions of dollars they've spent trying to address the problem, it doesn't appear to be going away.
Residents along Kalamalka Lake View Drive in Vernon said it has smelled like a sewage tank in the area all summer long.
The regional compost facility a milometer away is to blame for the stench.
The facility, which composts human waste and turns it into soil conditioner, has been fielding complaints since in opened in 2006.
Residents complain they can’t sit outside or keep their windows open at night, some have even said their eyes burn and skin gets irritated when it gets really bad.
Last year, Kelowna spent seven and a half million dollars upgrading the facility to address the smell.
Neighbors said it has cut down on the total number of days the smell is present, but nothing has been done about the severity.
4 comments:
Let's get this straight:
Kal Lake View Drive lies mainly within 'Electoral Area B', not Vernon. The cities of Vernon and Kelowna are partners in the bio-solids facility. Improvements to that facility are funded by the taxpayers of Kelowna and Vernon, not the taxpayers of Electoral Area B.
Sure the smell can be bad at certain times of the year, but you can also smell farming activities up there - not to mention the diesel/gas fumes from the highway, and other smells that were present before these homes were constructed.
I don't like the sound of living anywhere near the Vernon airport, but no one is going to spend $7 million to try and quieten it down for me.
I don't like how the treated wastewater sprayed on our hillsides causes flooding for residents below, but no one is going to spend $7 million to find a better solution.
This blog is filled with comments from lakeshore residents who don't enjoy constant boat traffic and other lake enthusiasts intruding on what they perceive as their "private" lakeshore property.
But no one is going to spend $7 million to declare Kal lake a boat-free zone, or to build boat ramps farther away from residents.
That sure was a lovely view these residents were enjoying during their CHBC interview...
I am of course sympathetic to the residents' plight, and humbly offer this advice: Should the olfactory offense become intolerable, why not swap for a home in the city? Come and SHARE THE PAIN with us, and contribute YOUR tax dollars to funding further improvements to the bio-solids facility.
Nice to see some empathy!
As much empathy as the complainers have for MY tax dollars!
We have a property very close to this operation and have been outside on nights were the smell is so bad that our eyes were burning. Type in law suits against biosolids and read. Mr 7 million dollar should be worried about what is being spread on our fields. Cities and supermarkets are now banning produce that spread sludge on fields. People do have a right to be worried....
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