Higher taxes and fees too late to avoid water restrictions in Osoyoos

After two consecutive years of massive tax and user fee hikes in Osoyoos, the town is still facing water restrictions all summer long.

The town went into stage two water restrictions back in June and it’s still in place more than two months later.

The town’s 2023 water assessment found that it had some catching up to do in terms of updating the water system, and residents are still paying the price.

In 2024, a hugely controversial tax hike from the town brought property taxes up by roughly 30 per cent, or $258 a year. Water fees went up by 64 per cent, or $294 a year for the average single-family home.

The necessary upgrades to the aging water system accounted for 46 per cent, or $213, of the water fee increase in 2024.

Osoyoos councillor Bob Appleby said there are still restrictions this year since the kind of upgrades the town’s water system needs take years to build. 

“We’re hoping to change out our supply source. We’re looking for infrastructure to make the water palatable, potable, whatever you want to call it. We’re looking for enough water to keep everybody happy,” he said. “The water fees going up does not say you’re going to get more water tomorrow morning.”

In 2025, the hikes continued with another $160 a year in property tax and another $72 in water fees.

Initially 2024’s tax hike was going to be significantly higher, around 40 per cent for property taxes, but residents fought back and the town brought the rate increase down.

In total this year, the average single-family home is sending the Town of Osoyoos roughly $739 more than it did two years ago.

The fee increases will go towards updating pipes and other pieces of the aging water system and there’s a plan to improve how the city actually gets its water.

The town currently gets its water from groundwater wells but there is a project to put in a plant that would be able to supply more water from the lake.

The town is working on its plan for a new $80.4 million water treatment plant, but that’s not scheduled to be complete until 2028. The town has allotted $14 million for consultants, according to its 2025 financial plan.

“That’s what the council is working on and it’s going to take them years and years to get it to where we would like to have it,” Appleby said. 

New water treatment plants don’t always end a city’s water issues. West Kelowna’s Rose Valley Water Treatment plant has been the subject of many complaints since it opened and the city is still working on water quality issues.

The current stage two water restrictions in Osoyoos apply to outdoor water use like sprinklers, irrigation and pools. At stage two sprinklers are only allowed to be used two days a week and the city is split into three zones to alternate who gets to water their lawn on a given day.