Continuing upgrades announced for Olalla’s water system

PENTICTON – The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen has announced the awarding of the engineering design for water main upgrades to Olalla's water system.

The upgrades are part of a continuing program to renovate the Olalla water system, part of which was upgraded in 1999 when a new well, pump, concrete reservoir and pump house was installed.

Engineering firm WSP Group was awarded the contract for system design.

Regional district public works manager Roger Huston says the design work will focus on the replacement of parts of the system prone to constant leakage. He says the system contains sections of mismatched pipe that will also be addressed in the upgrades.

Once the design work is complete, Huston says the regional district will have a better idea of the cost involved, and will break the work into phases for future budget planning.

Olalla’s waterworks communication system is also undergoing a $22,900 upgrade that will see contractor Interior Instruments install panel upgrades to provide better remote communication for the system’s operators. Additionally, a transfer switch, that will allow the system to switch to a backup generator in the event of a power failure, is also being installed at a cost of $6,600.

Huston says government funding is paying for the upgrades so residents will not see a tax increase.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.