Firstly, I want to commend the current City of Vernon and Regional District of North Okanagan.
Their recommendations, proposals and visionary plans for the water and sewer infrastructure upgrades deserve praise.
No one likes their taxes raised but this important utility has been ignored by previous council and board members who lacked the foresight and backbone to proceed due to fear of reprisal.
Their personal acceptance was more important than making difficult decisions.
The current water and sewer issues that plague the North Okanagan, with high nitrate levels and contamination of our groundwater, are just the tip of the iceberg.
Swan and Kalamalka lakes are increasingly showing more evidence of the groundwater pollution that is currently entering these lakes.
The groundwater is now showing signs of complete saturation from contaminants. And there is no end in sight, that would mitigate this.
Swan Lake is more evident as its main inlet/outlet is short circuited, along with outdated sewage systems that leach into the water.
There is a similar issue on Kal Lake but the inflow to the lake is not entirely from one source.
I don’t believe these communities want to give up their status of ‘country living at its best’ any time soon.
But difficult decisions need to be made.
Not everyone will be happy with change, but what legacy do we want to leave our grandchildren?
How will the quality of their life be impacted?
We need to move ahead and beyond what our past council and board members thought to be prudent.
Past Vernon mayor Sean Harvey had insight but was dismissed unfairly.
There needs to be a continued common alliance between the City of Vernon, Coldstream, BX, Swan Lake and Spallumcheen.
There is strength in numbers, and having each jurisdiction try to convince the province of B.C. alone, for funding upgrades, lacks a driving force. Having the communities research and develop a business plan will have a much bigger impact in Victoria.
If there is no long-term upgrade plan in place, this lacks substance and appeal to the government.
It’s time for the provincial government, along with all jurisdictions, to research the water drainage systems into our lakes.
Formulate a plan and cost structure. We need to do what is not only politically correct, but environmentally also.
Had previous municipal councils and regional boards done what was prudent at the time, our costs would have been considerably less.
Bill Luchak
Vernon
