Faulder
February 2012 Faulder water update
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Thu, 02/09/2012 - 13:06|
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The location of the Okanagan prison has been announced so we no longer have to factor the possibility of a prison along the road to Faulder into our deliberations. It is true that a Princeton-Summerland Road prison was always a long-shot, mostly due to a lack of infrastructure and a lack of serious lobbying. The site selected by the province, the Osoyoos Indian Band industrial park north of Oliver, is already serviced with water and sewer. And, given a lack of industrial tenants clamoring for space there, a prison is a good way to recoup these servicing investments. |
Which brings us to the Faulder water issue. Just to recap:
June 2011 Faulder water update
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 08:56
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Bad news: I just got a forwarded email from the Ministry of Community, Sport, and Cultural Development that the RDOS application for a Towns for Tomorrow grant was not approved (see previous update). We plan to appeal with Minister Chong because we believe that we originally had ministry support for this project. We will let you know if we have any success with this. The good news is that the heavy run-off seems to have resulted in substantial recharge to the aquifer. Although it is not high by historical standards, it buys us some time to continue looking for ways to get reliable water to Faulder. One possibility that has been mentioned in the past is a prison in an unpopulated area between Summerland and Faulder. It is clear (and has been clear for some time) that the majority of Okanagan residents do not want a prison, at least not within the boundaries of Penticton or Summerland. A rural prison may or may not be a different story. Naturally, the prison in such a location would require reliable water (most likely supplied by Summerland), so possibilities for cost sharing could exist. All this is very speculative at this point (who knows what the Province is thinking on this matter), but am looking for some feedback regarding whether to investigate the prison idea further or drop it right now. Please let me know what you are thinking using the comment feature below or at mbrydon@rdos.bc.ca |
Prison in the South Okanagan
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Thu, 05/26/2011 - 13:31|
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I am starting a prison thread on the Area F site in an attempt to replace the prison-related threads on Dan Albas's Penticton Politics blog. This is one of the downsides of losing Dan to the pros—he is now less willing to walk around with a stick poking political ant hills. Unfortunately, the prison-related threads on Dan's blog were the some of the best debate and commentary I have seen on the issue so far. Such debate and commentary are critical if we are to make an informed decision about such a complex issue. There is also an active prison thread on Castanet.net. The starting place for my interest in the prison is straightforward: Area 'F' of the RDOS has several areas (e.g., along the road to Faulder—see the map of large parcels) that might make good prison sites. These sites have the advantage of being relatively remote yet only a few minutes away from Highway 97 via Summerland. My question is: would such a rural prison provide the benefits of the prison (to nearby Summerland and perhaps even Penticton) without the negative aspects of a prison within the boundaries of a municipality? I don't know the answer to this question; that is why I am asking. |
Flooding in Faulder
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Tue, 05/17/2011 - 18:48 |
In an ironic twist, Faulder now has too much water! Darke Creek, which is typically just a dry culvert has overflowed with the higher-than-normal volume of snow melt. The critical issues for Faulder residents (apart from personal property damage) are the status of the the main road and upstream dam on Darke/Fish Lake. Rural roads and dams are the responsibility of the province, not the RDOS. |
April 2011 Faulder water update
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 11:08Just a quick update: we are waiting for word on the provincial Towns for Tomorrow grant (see January update). We expect word any day now. RDOS staff continues to work on background activities, such as negotiating rights-of-way, and so on.
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The latest well levels (click thumbnail on left to see larger version) show no significant recovery relative to 2007 levels. However, it appears the aquifer did recover to its April 2010 peak. That is, it looks like 2011 will be no worse than 2010 (assuming consumption remains the same). |
January 2011 Faulder water update
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Fri, 01/07/2011 - 15:32The provincial government has made one Towns For Tomorrow grant available to the RDOS each of the past few years. Last year the Faulder water system was selected by the RDOS board for its one and only application for the grant. Following the massive price increase in the Summerland option, we asked the RDOS board to consider Faulder for a second Towns For Tomorrow grant. The following is a full list of the projects considered by the RDOS board for submission to the Province:
Dec 2010 Faulder water update and newsletter
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Thu, 12/16/2010 - 23:42 |
As you may know, the Faulder project has run into a couple of roadblocks since the summer:
The 15% surcharge was unanticipated; however, it did not change the economics of the deal in a significant way. That is, the Summerland option was still the cheapest and least risky as of September, 2010. The significant increase in the estimated cost of the waterline to Summerland is a different matter. The net result is that the cost of the Summerland option has increased from an average ~$1,500 per year to ~$2,600 per year per Faulder household (see the two estimates). We have identified four alternative courses of action: |
Response to Summerland-Faulder water deal
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Mon, 08/16/2010 - 20:51The following letter was published in the Summerland Review (link to letter)
Published: August 11, 2010
Dear Editor:
Having chosen to live in various rural regions of B.C., I believed it was the responsibility of homeowners to provide their own water, either hand dig a well, have it extensively drilled or personally transport their water.
While living in Meadow Valley, I had to both filter and boil the drinking water. Never once did I think that others miles away should fill our water needs.
Combined effort brought water deal
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Mon, 08/09/2010 - 06:45By Bill Barisoff - Summerland Review Published: August 04, 2010 (link to letter)
As I have said in the past, the wheels of government often turn slowly, however they do continue to turn. Most recently an agreement was signed between the RDOS and the District of Summerland to extend domestic water service to the community of Faulder. It was not a huge announcement, but it is most certainly a very significant and important one. If you have been following this issue, you may recall that the community of Faulder has had a number of water challenges over the past few years. Uranium in the groundwater supply necessitated the need to potentially drill a new well. However more recent concerns regarding the long term sustainability of the aquifer made this a costly and somewhat risky endeavor for all involved. Fortunately there was a common sense and cost effective solution, extending the domestic water supply from Summerland to Faulder, and perform some other much needed upgrades during the construction process.
Water agreement signed (Faulder)
Submitted by Michael Brydon on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 19:59By John Arendt - Summerland Review Published: July 28, 2010 (link to story)
The municipality and the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen have signed a memorandum of understanding for the provision of water for the Faulder area. The agreement puts the 80 residential properties in Faulder under the Summerland water system.
