Why Duteau's a Dud

Water options aren't options.
They're a recipe for horrendous costs.

Basically it's a case of the old Vernon Irrigation District creating a Master Water Plan that creates a new Vernon Irrigation District!

"Two groups of consultants disagreed

 on the best course of action

 yet we were not allowed

 to have an independent agency

review the plan

 and no dissenting voice was allowed."

Repeat this to yourself:   "Duteau Creek is not an option for continued expensive domestic water supply."

Now say it louder!

SAC should ask themselves these questions:

• why do we have to get into the huge expense (VID mistake trying to sell water they did not have).

•  available water sources are:  Duteau with a miniscule watershed with seasonal water source, Kal Lake with a lot larger watershed plus aquifers and Okanagan Lake with a watershed covering most of the Okanagan Valley.  Which would be picked by astute people aware of a changing climate?

• consider the original water purveyors:  the Kal system providing 80% of domestic water and the VID system providing all of the irrigation water to all of its customers as well as  selling irrigation water for domestic consumption.  Had they continued to do so VID would have gone bankrupt trying to comply with domestic water treatment requirements.

• By attacking the problem at the roots we would have saved a lot of money.   We wasted a lot of money by not having a plan prior to constructing the Duteau  plant.  The two groups of consultants disagreed on the best course of action yet we were not allowed to have an independent agency to review the plan and no dissenting voice was allowed to provide information to SAC.

•  Look at the infamous way we collect water fees by subsidizing not only agriculture (the wrong way by spending money on treating water to be used for irrigation which neither helps the farmers nor the domestic customers!) but also ICI customers to the tune of $2.5 M.

An observer noted:

"At what point do stark differences in water costs

 impact the economic well-being

 and growth of the community?

 Retiring Canadians have many communities to choose from

 when locating to the Okanagan;

why pick the place with the highest cost water, and

 by implication, the poorest governance?"

Why indeed?

"Think, folks, how you will vote in the next water referendum," suggest Kia, adding "and how you'll vote in the next election."  

Many folks have expressed that view!

The Duteau system...highest vulnerability to climate change

"You are blessed with lots of water"...a water consultant stated during a SAC meeting

There'll be another blog post later today...with compelling snippets from Master Water Plan 2002...

...the MWP that SAC members didn't get to see...