Sage Mesa
September 2011 West Bench water update
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 17:56|
Update 17 Oct 2011: We continue our negotiations with the City of Penticton regarding their bid for providing the West Bench with water. We hope to make a presentation to Penticton City Council at their first meeting in early November to nail down a final bid price and a few general principles. We will then compare Penticton's bid to our other alternatives and bring a recommendation forward to voters in a referendum. Also, we have sent out invitations to a short web-based survey about the ongoing boil water advisory. If you live on the West Bench and did not receive an invitation to participate, you can add yourself to our West Bench water survey mailing list (opens in a new window). The boil water issue boils down (ha ha) to whether you want to pay for temporary upgrades or would prefer to wait it out until the major upgrade is complete. See the staff memo on the boil water issue here (opens in a new window). |
Just a quick update regarding West Bench water:
We are running a bit behind schedule due in large part to the general slowdown in August. We have been trying to arrange a comprehensive meeting with City of Penticton and RDOS staff since August but this meeting will not happen until October 7th (that is the first date that is acceptable to all the key people!). Also, many people were busy in August so the residents' survey results took a while to trickle in.
Materials from the July 28, 2011 West Bench presentation
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Fri, 07/29/2011 - 08:33Thanks to those of you who could attend the Open House at West Bench School. Thanks as well to RDOS staff who did so much to pull the event together on a warm summer's evening.
Focus Engineering report: West Bench Supply options (2011 predesign)
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Sun, 07/24/2011 - 10:55I have requested an electronic copy of the predesign report for the West Bench supply options. I will post it here as soon as I get it. The report provides much more technical detail about the alternatives (e.g., pump horsepower, waterline routing, and so on).
Some very rough costs for the new alternatives
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 14:30I have attached the latest version of our internal calculations for three of the West Bench upgrade options (status quo, bulk water, new UV). These are still very rough and pre-design. However, they should give you some sense for the relative costs of the different alternatives. They are also the numbers used in the July 22, 2011, newsletter and FAQ sent to all West Bench residents.
West Bench water system page on the main RDOS web site
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 14:01Now that West Bench water is the responsiblity of the RDOS, a page has been added to the main RDOS web site.
The official RDOS page will house all the official RDOS news on the water system and the 2011 upgrade project. I will continue to run this as a "shadow" West Bench water on this site to provide additional information and permit more resident feedback (each page on this site permits comments).
Be Heard! Register for the online version of the West Bench Water Upgrade Survey
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 13:41The RDOS is currently fleshing out 1+3 alternatives for the West Bench water system upgrade (the status quo is not reallly an option since it does not meet IHA's standards; it is included only to provide a baseline against which to evaluate the cost of the other alternatives). The fourth option (not included in the July 22nd newsletter to residents) is the extraterritorial arrangement with the City of Penticton that failed to attract sufficient support in the 2010 referendum. I have asked RDOS staff to include it for completeness.
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Update 26 Aug 2011: The paper version of the West Bench Water Upgrade has been sent out for those who prefer not to do the survey online. Due to printing and mailing costs, much of the background material about the alternatives (costs, pros, cons, etc.) has not been included with the mail-out survey. Instead, residents may review the background material at the RDOS office on Martin Street or the Penticton Library. It is also available here. |
We will be asking West Bench residents to evaluate the alternatives by completing a short survey following the July 28th open house. The paper survey will be sent out to all West Bench residents via Canada Post. However, we are giving all West Bench residents (plus non-West Bench residents who may have a stake in the evolution of the West Bench system) the opportunity to complete the survey online instead of on paper. Given the mailing and talllying costs of a paper survey, we would naturally prefer that as many people as possible use the online version.
To add you to our online survey list we need:
- A verified email address
- Indication of your "status" as a West Bench ratepayer
- The correct answer to an easy local knowledge trivia question. This is to help insure you are a legitimate particpant, not a Russian teenage hacker or a robot or whatever.
To preregister for the survey, please click the button: |
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You will be asked to supply your name, a valid email address, and answer a simple math question (again, to discourage spammers). You will then receive a link in your email to complete the registration process.
Note: Your email system may think the automatic invitation you receive is spam and may place it in a special email folder called SPAM or JUNK. Please check these folders on your email system if you do not receive a response email within a minute or two. Alternatively, add mbrydon@rdos.bc.ca to your "safe senders" or "contacts" list.
Note: Your email system may think the automatic invitation you receive is spam and may place it in a special email folder called SPAM or JUNK. Please check these folders on your email system if you do not receive a response email within a minute or two. Alternatively, add mbrydon@rdos.bc.ca to your "safe senders" or "contacts" list.
Transit review: Open House on 20 June, 2011
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Thu, 06/09/2011 - 11:13 |
The RDOS is hosting a Transit Review open house: Westbench Elementary School Library See the full ad here and please pass it along to anyone who you might think is interested. |
BC wants to see action on West Bench water
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 13:14The following article appeared in the on-line "oliver Daily news" (link to article). Jack Bennest, who did the story and who has spent much time at the RDOS board table, asked me for some comments. He included these at the end of the story. The story stems from a letter to the RDOS from the Province asking whether the RDOS would be willing to takeover the West Bench water system if the WBID decided to dissolve.
The Regional District Okanagan Similkameen is being challenged by the BC government to come up with a plan to improve water quality standards on the West Bench in Area F.
Horse update: January 2011
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Mon, 01/17/2011 - 11:39I received the following update from RDOS staff on January 5th regarding the horse feeding stations.
To date [the hay provider] has delivered 4 bales. He noted approximately 25 horses on site after the first visit. His counts indicate approximately 40 horses in the area. His last delivery was two bales. One was eaten down in a couple of days, the other is about half consumed. The exposed grass in the area will slow feeding on the hay. Once we have more snow cover, the hay will go more quickly.
Horse update: December 2010
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Tue, 12/21/2010 - 13:41The horse feeding stations above the Westhills Aggregates pits are up and running as of mid-December. I see horses around my neighborhood so we are still waiting for the horses to find the hay. Hopefully they will and we will see less of them.
