EAGLE VALLEY
NEWS
Martin granted bail, appealing extradition Page 3
Ten-year-old leaving her mark on the race track Page 7
Wednesday, June 18, 2014 PM40008236
Vol. 59 No. 25 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (GST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Loud and clear: Teachers and their supporters from throughout the Okanagan-Shuswap gather in front of School District #83’s office building on Shuswap Avenue in Salmon Arm Monday as part of the ongoing job action by the BC Teachers Federation. For more, see Strike creates on page 2. Photo by Lachlan Labere
Council stays the course on water treatment facility
Alternatives: Changes could put government funds at risk. By Chelsea Grainger Eagle Valley News
The District of Sicamous is forging ahead with plans for a new water treatment plant. Last week, council made yet another step towards the water treatment plant by choosing a filtration membrane provider for the plant. The units will cost approximately $1.5 million dollars. The project began shortly after the district was left without clean drinking water following a flash flood in the summer of 2012. The flood significantly increased the turbidity, or cloudiness, in the water, making it unsafe to drink. Residents have been on boil and gen-
eral water quality advisories notice as drilling, infrastructure costs where water-treatment infrastrucsince the flood, and will remain so and assessments would have to ture already exists. The proposed until the plant is operational. be done. The district is also under facility, which will incorporate that The total cost of the plant is a strict timeline to complete the infrastructure, is expected to meet estimated at $7.9 million, with $3 project. Sicamous’ water requirements for million being funded by the fed“I don’t think the community the next 30 years. eral and provincial governThe membrane choice ments. Sicamous is responpassed with a three-to-two sible for the remainder, to vote. Couns. Terry Rysz be funded through local and Fred Busch were optaxation and existing reSomehow I just feel posed. serves. “Somehow I just feel ununcomfortable with proceeding As per the suggestions comfortable with proceedwith this. I know we need the of concerned residents at ing with this,” said Busch. plant, but I can’t support the a prior public meeting, the “I know we need the plant, motion at this time. district has looked at alterbut I can’t support the moCoun. Fred Busch native routes, such as using tion at this time.” District of Sicamous groundwater rather than Rysz and Busch aren’t water from Mara Lake. the only ones who are unBut it was explained by comfortable with the way council that if the district were to would be very happy if we lost the plant is progressing. switch gears on the project now, funding and slowed down,” said Sicamous resident Jeff all higher-level government fund- Trouton. “I don’t think it’s fair to Mallmes, who leans towards the ing would be lost. the taxpayer when we have reports groundwater option, said he feels Mayor Darrell Trouton said that Mara Lake is good water.” council hasn’t been very forthswitching to groundwater could The plant will be built on the coming with information about cost more money, as things such district’s Dabell Street property the plant. He argues the proposed
facility seems to have a lot of unnecessary bells and whistles. “There’s probably a lot of ways to cut costs,” said Mallmes. “We went with the Caddillac of facilities.” Carmen Gisi, who has been involved in the design, construction and installation of water plants for a majority of his career, says that the costs of the plant are skewed. “It’s being way overbuilt,” said Gisi, noting the plant shouldn’t cost more than $3 million. Gisi compared the Sicamous project to a water facility that was recently installed in Harrison Hot Springs, a community he described as being almost identical to Sicamous. Gisi said Harrison Hot Springs was able to complete their plant for $1.3 million. District chief administrative officer Heidi Frank, however, said the Harrison Hot Springs plant is much smaller than the one proposed for Sicamous.