Osoyoos issues boil water advisory after 'significant instrumentation failure'

UPDATE: 5:30 p.m.

The Town of Osoyoos says it believes a power outage Saturday began a domino effect that ultimately led to a widespread boil water notice and water quality advisory within the municipality.

In a news release later Monday afternoon, town officials say the outage led to the "340-booster station and other related hardware malfunctioning."

"This suspected incident led to the incapacitation of the backup battery power unit, resulting in the station shutting down and the main monitoring computer going offline," the release stated.

"Consequently, the early warning system failed to register the issue. The town's operators discovered this on Sunday and immediately initiated troubleshooting to restore functionality and repair any damage."

The issue, the town says could potentially lead to backflow and introduce bacteria into the water supply.

"The drop in reservoir levels stirred up settled particles leading to a town-wide water quality advisory," they explained.

"Operators are actively flushing out the system and conducting necessary water quality tests. Once the town receives negative results from the laboratory we will be able to re-evaluate the water quality advisories."

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ORIGINAL: 12:30 p.m.

The Town of Osoyoos has issued a boil water advisory after one of its water reservoirs ran dry and another was drawn to critical levels due to "significant instrumentation failure."

A press release issued Monday explains the failure happened Sunday night.

As a result, a boil water is in place for the following areas:

Town of Osoyoos

• 115th Street
• Meadowlark Drive
• Wren Place and Drive
• Raven Court
• Finch Crescent
• Swan Crescent
• Sandpiper Place
• Killdeer Place
• Curlew Court

South Rural Area

• 107th Street
• 42nd Avenue
• 26th Avenue
• 12th Avenue
• 6th Avenue

North Rural Area

• Hwy 97 north of Hwy 3
• 100th Avenue
• 116th Avenue
• 115th Avenue
• 89th Street

Residents are urged to bring water to a rolling boil for at least one minute or use another safe source of water.

The entire domestic water system is also under a water quality advisory, meaning increased turbidity including brown and discoloured water is possible.

"The Operational Services Department is in the process of placing signs throughout the community as well as systematic water main flushing to address the discolouration," reads the town's public statement.

"Water quality sampling is being collected, and the results will be known by Friday this week. They will provide the necessary information to determine whether the notices can be lifted."

The Town of Osoyoos' long-beleaguered water system is the subject of much debate currently, as the community prepares to grapple with a proposed tax hike of roughly 39 per cent.

Much of that increased cashflow would be earmarked for notably large capital project line items in the 2024 budget like a combined $6.8 million for projects related to wastewater improvements, including for odour control at the wastewater treatment plant, and $15.6 million for various water system infrastructure needs.

A special council meeting will be held Thursday to discuss the tax hikes.