There will be a water outage for the Osoyoos Irrigation District (OID) on Saturday November 12 that will extend for a longer period than usual. This is the day for our annual cleaning of the reservoir before we change over to lake water. The reservoir must be empty for it to be cleaned, so after filling the reservoir on Friday evening (November 11), the lake pumps will be turned off, likely around 7PM. Once the reservoir and pipes empty (as water continues to be used following this shut-off), there will be no further water until the pumps are turned back on after the cleaning and other work (see below) has been completed.
As well as cleaning the reservoir, we are also replacing two large valves that did not hold when there was a water main break earlier this year. When these valves fail, all water must be turned off to effect repairs, whereas with functioning valves, it is possible to disconnect only the damaged parts of the water system. These valves are on 52 Ave, between 25 St and 33 St, which means that the main water pipes must be emptied to well below this point to allow the new valves to be installed. To accomplish this, it will likely be necessary for us to turn on the hydrants to flush sufficient water from the system. This has the added benefit of flushing dirty water and sediment from the pipes.
With all this work, we anticipate that it may not be possible to restart the pumps and fill the pipes and reservoir until later in the day, possibly around 4 PM. Note that to accomplish this initial fill reasonably quickly, it will be necessary to use the large volume lake pumps, so that lake water will be used. Once this has been completed, further water supply will be from our well, at least while well water is able to keep up with water demand. Should water demand exceed supply from the well at any time, lake water is automatically added to the system (which is the reason that the boil water notice remains in place).
If you have any questions about any of this work, please contact the OID.