More information finally flowing on West Kelowna water woes

Photo: FACEBOOK

Lawson said during the meeting about 145 people watching, and the video they posted has had over 2,000 views as of Friday morning.

Ongoing frustration and confusion about a West Kelowna rate hike led one of the city’s top bureaucrats into an informal Thursday night chat with area residents that some hope is a sign of things to come.

“The community had a number of questions, mostly around the process for paying for the water treatment plant, spurred on by a letter that went out to to the rate payers,” Ron Bowles, CAO of West Kelowna, said Friday, the morning after the informal sit down with residents.

That letter has been a source of confusion for the last month. It went to homeowners reliant on the Rose Valley water plant and indicated they now had to pay $181 a year to repay the debt outstanding on the new facility, up from the $150 already being paid. Some people thought it was an additional $181 a year, not just an increase of $31, others expressed concerns that there was a rate hike at all.

“So we had a discussion,” Bowles said. “It was good. It was good to meet people and we're just happy to get the information out in any way we can.”

The meeting was set up at the urging of longtime community advocates Olivia Lawson and Scott Beaton. In the last year they’ve advocated for resident concerned with ongoing water concerns ranging from high manganese levels to high bills.

Lawson has regularly said that communication on the part of the city has fallen short of expectations and indicated Friday morning that the meeting was a step in the right direction.

“Lots of people are still confused on where our money has been going, but we're glad that the city was able to come to the table for this discussion,” Lawson said.

“We really appreciate (Bowles) being open with us and taking the time out of his busy schedule to meet with us. While we may not agree on everything, hopefully it provided some more clarity from most.”

Details of the payment changes were laid out but for Lawson, the meeting heralded a change in communication she’s long waited for. It will also offer answers to questions that lingered with the city’s many PSAs and interviews.

“One important and big win for the community is that (Bowles) agreed that the city would share details of the water fund accounts and reserves to demonstrate transparency about the water funding,” Lawson said.

The online conversation that followed indicates not all concerns have been alleviated but people seem more clear on the choices ahead of them.

Repayment options for the new Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant were announced in a letter to residents explaining two options residents could choose to pay for their portion of the $75 million water treatment plant.

The original amount identified in 2020 was $150 yearly at an interest rate of 0.91 per cent, however the city says current interest rates of 4.02 per cent have caused the yearly amount to go up, so the new amount will be $181 a year starting in 2026 — an approximate rise in $31.

Under Option 2, property owners could pay their portion of the water treatment plant in the amount of $2,750 by submitting that amount to the city before May 31, 2025.

Option 2 is not available after May 31.

The city is hosting another Facebook live event on May 12 for Rose Valley ratepayers who have questions.