Letters to the editor

Homeowners in the SEKID area voted overwhelmingly against borrowing millions of dollars for water upgrades.

The quality of drinking water in Kelowna is not a new issue.

The Kelowna Joint Water Committee was working on water upgrade problems when I was a member of the Committee from 2008 to 2011.

I participated in two submissions to the Provincial Finance Committee outlining the high cost associated with bringing all of Kelowna up to the Canadian Drinking Water Standards and we asked for cost sharing of these expenses.

Is the looming election the reason there might be money for these upgrades now?

If so, the Government needs to ask some serious questions before doling out cash to water purveyors as an election goodie.

For instance, will the proposed upgrades satisfy Interior Health or will more costly work be necessary before standards are met?

Can SEKID continue to make required upgrades to their system after the initial work has been done? Does SEKID have a large enough consumer base to fund such upgrades?

Perhaps the most pointed question should be, does Kelowna really need five separate water purveyors? SEKID is not the only water district to have costly upgrades planned and/or underway.

Water upgrade costs should be shared locally, provincially and federally. However, water governance questions should be discussed and resolved locally and provincially so scenarios such as the one SEKID is facing don’t happen again.

We need a government that spends our money prudently and respects the tax payers’ contribution to this province.  We don’t need a government that will try to buy your vote just before the election.

Graeme James