I went to the Greater Vernon Water open house Oct. 28 firmly of the view that I should vote no at the upcoming referendum Nov. 15. But I quickly changed my mind as I listened to the reasons we need to proceed. I will be voting a resounding yes to borrowing $70 million for the following reasons:
Financial – if we raise the loan now, we will have better access to provincial and federal infrastructure funds. If not, we are on our own. The loan will be at two per cent if we proceed now as interest rates are low. If we wait, interest rates could be much higher so our costs will increase. Costs for all of the projects will increase if we delay and have to undertake these projects on a more haphazard basis. If we do not proceed with this loan and are forced to proceed with some or all of these projects, our water rates will increase more as the whole system is funded by user payments.
Water supply – the planned projects will help us deal with changes in precipitation patterns and droughts by increasing the Aberdeen reservoir’s capacity and protecting our water licenses to draw water from Okanagan Lae. Could we lose those water licenses if we do not start using them? Who knows, but I would prefer to avoid that possibility.
Water quality – I like the idea that I can drink tap water and not worry about chemical or biological contamination. I like the idea that our tap water will be of the best quality for the foreseeable future so I do not have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a filter system.
I’m voting yes to borrow $70 million to ensure we have a reliable supply of safe water for the foreseeable future. I’m not happy about the way we fund our water utility and suggest we take our politicians to task for the current rate structure and force them to find a better funding formula.
Rose Harryman
Vernon
