With the long-awaited Windermere water vote coming up June 25 (with advanced voting opportunities being held on June 15 and June 23), the Windermere Water & Sewer Company Inc. (WWSC) and Parr Utilities Ltd. (Parr), will be holding a grand opening open house during the Victoria Day long weekend.
WWSC, which provides sanitary sewer servicing, and Parr, which provides drinking water treatment and supply, both operate from the same building under the same trade name of WWSC.
On May 12, WWSC hosted a tour of its water treatment and supply facilities.
The tour was lead by Paul Partlo, president and chief financial officer for WWSC, who explained the step-by-step process of water collection and purification and answered any questions along the way.
Present was Area F Director Wendy Booth and Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) Communications Manager Loree Duczek.
“We did this back in late 2009, but the upcoming Windermere vote provides a perfect opportunity to open the place properly,” said Partlo of the upcoming public tour, which is a part of WWSC’s official grand opening.
“There’s a surprising number of people in the Valley who don’t know we’re here.”
The 2009 tour had hosted close to 200 people. This year’s tour, which follows the Windermere information session held May 17 at the Windermere Community Hall, will be held May 21 from noon to 4 p.m. Food and refreshments will be available with catering by Ann Riches.
Parr was incorporated in 1967, and WWSC was incorporated in 2005 with the purchase of Bighorn Ranch. In 2007, Parr was purchased by WWSC to provide a platform for more expansion of WWSC’s water system.
Should Windermere residents choose to vote to have their water provided by WWSC this summer, the RDEK will purchase water in bulk at a monthly rate from WWSC and provide it to Windermere residents for a new cost.
Currently, WWSC provides water for Baltac, Timber Ridge, and the new Copper Point Resort.
“This is a very big positive for both organizations, as the process to get to this agreement was a challenging one,” said Partlo. “We’re very pleased to be part of this push to allow the doors to open on that facility later this month.”
