Report says housing could threaten Vernon drinking water and Kal Lake

A development proposal from a North Okanagan agricultural company could potentially decrease the drinking water quality for much of the City of Vernon and increase the risk of algae blooms says a Regional District of North Okanagan staff report. The issue is highlighted in a Sept. 4 Greater Vernon Advisory Committee staff report https://rdno.civicweb.net/document/206511/ which says it has identified concerns over a septic system slated for new temporary foreign workers' accommodation built at the VegPro facility in Coldstream. "The septic system is immediately next to Coldstream Creek, which feeds into Kalamalka Lake," the report says. "Conditions in Coldstream Creek are known to directly impact the Kalamalka Lake Intake which is the intake for the unfiltered drinking water source for most domestic customers of Greater Vernon Water." Currently, Gestion Verdura Inc, better known as VegPro, have an application to build two modular homes to house 96 temporary foreign workers at the 90-acre site on the outskirts of Vernon. The application for the housing has been approved by the Agricultural Land Commission and the septic system fully complies with all provincial regulations and VegPro says it has been approved by Interior Health. However, the report notes that while the septic system design falls within the government's regulations it still has concerns. "Even if spills do not occur, this system has the potential for additional loading to Coldstream Creek of numerous parameters such as nitrates/nitrites, phosphates, pathogens and salt, all of which would decrease water quality and increase the risk of algae blooms," the reports says. VegPro executive director Jonathan Blais told iNFOnews.ca that while the Regional District had concerns he reiterated the work has been approved by a professional engineer and approved by Interior Health, who is the provincial regulator. "We use our own drinking water from the Kal Lake. So we make our utmost responsibility of making sure that we protect the watershed," Blais said. While the staff reports highlights concerns, Blais stuck to the narrative that the system passed what government regulators required. Blais refused to answer when asked whether the company would be prepared to build the sewage system to a higher standard than the government mandated. The VegPro executive said the company was working with the Regional District regarding the issue to address the concerns. However, the Regional District said it had received correspondence from the company's lawyer regarding the issue. "Although it is not formally filed (in court), we consider the official correspondence from this legal entity to be a legal item," Regional District of North Okanagan spokesperson Stacey Raftus said in an email. READ MORE: Tolko fined $75,000 for logging road that caused landslide https://infotel.ca/newsitem/tolko-fined-75000-for-logging-road-that-caused-landslide/it107202 The staff report paints a bleak picture of what could happen to the majority of Vernon residents' drinking water and the pristine water in Kalamalka Lake. The report says that the engineering report only has information based on one month of "flow data" from May 2024. "This actual flow data is less than half of the recommended design flows of the Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual guideline for ‘residential or work camps, flush toilets and meals,’" the report states. "It is staff’s opinion that one month of flow data does not provide sufficient certainty in trending, especially as the report indicates that this would bring the effluent flow volume to 95.4% of the field’s rated capacity." The report goes onto say that there is "no indication" that the design allows for increased flow or safeguards if it fails. "The existing design does not account for ‘Peak Daily Flows’, which can be significantly more than the daily average flow," the report says. There is no evidence the system will have a backup power supply or whether there will be monitoring. "Due to the magnitude of effluent being produced from over 200 people and the potential impact to the drinking water for all of Greater Vernon, at minimum, staff would expect monitoring wells between the creek and the effluent fields and monitoring of the creek above and below the site to prove out these recommendations with criteria for required infrastructure upgrades if impacts are seen," the report says. Great Vernon Advisory Committee Chair Bob Fleming told iNFOnews.ca that Greater Vernon Water has an obligation to look at all the risks to its water supply and it was within the staff's purview to question whether there were risks that hadn't been stated. "We have to protect our interests and the interests of the utility," Fleming said. The Regional District politician said a third independent engineering report is currently in progress and should be available next month. The issue was also scheduled to be back at the Regional District of North Okanagan Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca  or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .