The relationship between water upgrades and sewer for the West Bench
I received the following question via email:
In regards to the West Bench water issue currently before us, a valid question has come up that I believe may be of importance. Will the purchase of water from the city of Penticton ultimately lead to sewer hook-up, thereby creating the opportunity for subdivision in the West Bench? Some residents believe that this is a possibility and it would be good to clarify this important question. As always, thank you for your quick response.
My response:
Short answer: I believe the issues are economically and politically independent and that one does not necessarily entail the other. It would be different if new water treatment involved digging up West Bench drive. But as far as I know it does not.
As an aside, this is precisely the type of strategic issue that I would like to bring to the new our "Community Commission" (the expanded version of the Parks and Recreation Commission that I want to create in Area F). On one hand, virtually every property in the original West Bench subdivision has or will have expensive septic failure. On the other hand, sewers enable increased density. We have to be careful what we wish for.
We definitely need to get people up here talking about what we want the neighborhood to look like in 5-10-20 years and to what extent policy decisions can influence this evolution. I will get back to you on this.