COLDSTREAM - Residents who receive water from the Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant are officially drinking award winning water. The Regional District of North Okanagan’s (RDNO) Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant (DCWTP) Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility was awarded the 2019 Association of Consulting Engineering Companies of BC Award of Merit in the Municipal and Civil Category.
The award was presented to RDNO’s engineering consultant, WSP Canada Group Ltd. who completed design, tendering, and construction administration services for the project.
Construction of the RDNO’s innovative UV Disinfection Facility, built adjacent to the DCWTP which was constructed in 2010, was completed in early 2019 and is a key component of Greater Vernon Water’s (GVW) Master Water Plan (MWP). The MWP provides a road map to meeting the water needs of our growing population as well as Provincial water treatment guidelines to protect health.
GVW updated their MWP in 2012 and at that time adding filtration to the DCWTP was recommended. Following a failed referendum in 2014 to borrow funds to pay for filtration ($30 million) in addition to other projects, the MWP was reviewed to assess alternatives to filtration that may offer a more affordable solution to reduce public health risks and still meet provincial water treatment guidelines. As part of that review process, the RDNO Board of Directors created a Stakeholder Advisory Committee (Committee), which included a broad cross-section of community members, to complete an in-depth review of the 2012 MWP. The Committee provided a number of recommendations to the RDNO, which led to a revised MWP in 2017 and included the recommendation to use UV disinfection instead of filtration.
As provincial drinking water standards generally require filtration, a unique agreement was established that allows GVW to use UV disinfection alongside the existing Dissolved Air Floatation clarification process at the Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant. A monitoring plan is a requirement of this agreement, to assess this innovative treatment system, and GVW is working in partnership to develop the plan with Interior Health and the provincial regulatory enforcement agency.
Through the Canada-British Columbia Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, the Federal and Provincial Governments awarded $5.81 million to fund the installation of the UV Disinfection Facility. The total project cost was approximately $7 million, with the remaining portion, less than 17% of the project cost, being covered by the GVW Water Utility.
Join us for an official opening of the UV Disinfection Facility at the DCWTP!
Official Opening Details:
Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Time: Gates open at 9:00 am with speeches and ribbon cutting commencing at 10:00 am
Location: Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant, 1014 Whitevale Road, Lavington
(map attached)
Tours: Tours of the DCWTP and UV Disinfection Facility will begin after the speeches and ribbon cutting and will run until 2:00 pm
• Minimum age for the tours - seven (7) years old
• Participants aged 7 to 14 must be accompanied by an adult
• Wheel chair access is limited
• Clothing requirements – closed toe shoes only, no skirts/dresses, high heels or loose clothing.
We look forward to seeing you there!
For further information, please call 250-550-3700 or visit www.rdno.ca.