Position Available - Okanagan Basin Water Board

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Selected Morning Star Newsclip - In case you missed them.

I was somewhat tardy in publishing interesting articles so here are the ones I missed. Enjoy!

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Readers Write - Letter to the Editor. - Published by permission of the Author

To The Editor, The Morning Star                                                                          2015 Mar 29

I'm a member of the Citizens for Change to the Master Water Plan group.  The Morning Star editorial posted March 25 by Richard Rolke raised some very good points and questions.  I'll give my personal point of view on some of them.  I'm not speaking on behalf of the CCMWP; that's Terry Mooney's job.

I mention this because the citizens' group is a very loose association.  So far we're quite informal but might have to change as more and more people want to join.  Some of us are technical, some political,  some radical, some financial, some managerial and entrepreneurial, some environmental, some have public health concerns, but all are genuinely interested because of gut feelings that things are wrong here.  BTW we'll soon be on Facebook - please spread it around.

My views aren't supported by the entire group.  I'm one of the few (so far) who does not want to shut down the Duteau water treatment plant,  but I'm with the majority who believe it should not be further expanded.  At least not in directions that the current Master Water Plan proposes to go.  I lean towards low cost, passive and environmentally friendly methods of potable water treatment; a shift in trend that will occur more and more over the next couple of generations.  All it will take is public pressure and a little more research to speed this up, though.

The process leading to the failed MWP referendum (all the detail focused workshops, etc.) was developed by a select panel comprised of politicians, bureaucrats, and hired consultants.  The special interest of agriculture was also continuously represented and other select delegations were periodically invited. 

In the editorial Councillor Cunningham is quoted, "We can’t assume one group is speaking for all of the community".  She's absolutely right, but does she actually think the politicians on the panel knew the wishes of the majority when they developed the current MWP?  Obviously they didn't.  The referendum was defeated for whatever reasons. 

Not much information is made readily available to the public about the technical reports as they are being discussed.  The politicians involved really had no idea if their constituents actually supported the directions that they were taking in developing their master water plan.

The first and most important of their discussions were about which water sources should be secured and treated, but public input to the technical plans was open only after almost all decisions had already been made.

Going forward, you must make the best with what you have.

The Citizens for Change is no more or less relevant than any other group or individual, but may be able to evolve into an umbrella organization which really can represent the wishes of the broader sectors.  Focused on one issue, and (if nothing else) continuously auditing the decision making processes leading to a revised master water plan, we may be able to sway delegated politicians if we feel they are once again being pushed off course.  As the bureaucrats and consultants do their thing, we would certainly issue general progress reports through various methods and persist in soliciting and accepting all feedback.  Remember, what happens now continues to leave a significant legacy.

If I was to individually approach the RDNO and ask to be included in formal discussions leading to a revised master water plan, they would say no.  After all, who am I?  They are the experts they will say, and the politicians they select are there to make sure the wishes of the majority populace are paramount.  Ratepayer wishes are foremost, aren't they Ms. Cunningham?

If any established group was to ask the same of the RDNO it would be much more difficult for them to say no without incurring public backlash.  Just a thought and, of course, degrees of participation would need to be vetted to avoid malicious disruption.

So...  Join us, friend us, or form your own group.  Get involved as an individual.  Let your views be known.  Write letters to the Editor, call in to a radio station, email your politicians, establish a blog, or link us on Facebook.  Establish your own Facebook account.  Talk with your friends and acquaintances.  By all means make use of our Provincial and Federal resources too.  Say what's on your mind even if it disagrees with my position.

Better yet,  go to the source and make presentations to Vernon, Coldstream, and even RDNO Councils.  Hope you have a thick skin, though.  Their initial response will be vicious.  Believe me, I know.

Dana Mills

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The Climate is Changing - Public Presentation

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Lake Country Referendum Results.

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2015 property tax calculators - Vernon and Coldstream.

For a peak at your expected property taxes Councillor Spiers has posted a tax calculator comparing property taxes between Coldstream and Vernon (click here).

To view his complete article click here.

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Coldstream Council Meeting - April 28, 2015

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True news item - or believe it or not!

Casually watching the early morning news I had to make a double take!Then I had to take a photo so I would know I did not dream it up. It seems we have a new speed record of an ice flow at about 25,000 km/hour (About 20 times faster than the speed of sound). Thought everyone might want to know about it.

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GVW Information Bulletin - Water storage update.

This potential water shortage is just the harbinger of many more to come as long as agriculture has to share water with domestic customers. Okanagan Lake could supply all the domestic customers and Duteau could be retained by agriculture.

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Is there a climate change?

Some of you may have seen these photos but if you have not be prepared for a shock. California is not dreamin'! Click here for the shocking photos.

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Coldstream Council Meeting - April 13, 2015

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Selected Morning Star Newsclip - In case you missed them.

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Kalamalka Lake water is back on!

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BC News Release - BC pledges $7.2 million towards Rail Trail

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Selected Morning Star Newsclip - In case you missed it

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Coldstream Committee of the Whole meeting - April 7, 2015

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Farm Sparks Water Debate

Posted on 4/2/2015 by Pete McIntyre

Local politicians debated the pros and cons of providing water to properties outside Greater Vernon's boundaries at today's Greater Vernon Advisory Committee meeting.

In the end, an 80,000 tree apple orchard in Spallumcheen was allowed to buy two hectares of water allocation.

The farm will be supplied with potable water from the Duteau Creek Plant.

Director Jim Garlick says they need to have an overall plan for extending the boundaries by talking with neighboring communities.

"And that is water that is not treated or treated for industrial or for agriculture, and what we should be doing is involving them and bringing them into the plan so they can plan for it, and we can as well," Garlick tells Kiss FM.

Garlick says he's not against expanding the system, but says every time they provide special exemptions, it complicates the master water plan "a little more."

Director Gyula Kiss joined Garlick and Bob Spiers in opposition to providing the orchard with water.

Kiss is concerned about residents having to subsidize more of the costs to supply a farm with treated water, which in this case, is not in their boundary.

"The more we sell (to farmers), the more it has to be subsidized by domestic customers. That's why I can't support it," says Kiss. 

GVAC also approved extra water allocation for the PRT tree seed nursery on Highway 97 in Coldstream.

"The applicant has indicated that they require additional water volume to facilitate projected growth of the business," says Dale McTaggert, general manager of engineering for the Regional District of North Okanagan.

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My concern with the proposal was that both request were for treated water sold at irrigation rates. Should we discontinue the practice of irrigating crops with expensive treated water I would have no problem supporting such requests.

Over six years GVAC toyed with the idea of reviewing water rates and make it more fare to domestic users. Now, without considering this important issue we sell more of this expensive water at highly subsidized rates. 

The issue of the Master Water Plan is also in limbo yet we make decisions as if the Master Water Plan issue is totally resolved. I believe the ratepayers still have a word in what plan they are willing to support with borrowed money.

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GVAC Meeting - April 2, 2015

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Selected Morning Star Newsclip - In case you missed it

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This is a perfect April 1st joke.

So we are turning off Kalamalka Lake water because the effectiveness of the ultraviolet treatment is reduced and replace it with Duteau Creek water that has no ultraviolet treatment at all and has chlorination as the only disinfection. Chlorination is also used for Kalamalka Lake water as an addition to ultraviolet treatment

My question is: why do we need filtration at all if non-disinfected Duteau Creek water is perfectly fine for Greater Water customers?

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