Just a reminder that now that the irrigation season has ended, there will be a water outage for the Osoyoos Irrigation District (OID) on Saturday November 4. This is the day for our annual cleaning of the reservoir before we change over to well water. The reservoir must be empty for it to be cleaned, so after filling the reservoir on Friday evening (November 3), the lake pumps will be turned off, likely around 7PM. Once the reservoir and pipes are 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 has been completed. We anticipate that the work will be done by 10AM, although it may take slightly longer.

Note that although we are changing to using well water for the winter, the initial fill of the reservoir will use mainly lake water. After that (until the irrigation season starts again in early April at which time we switch back to lake water) only well water will be added to the system unless water demand exceeds what the well can supply, in which case lake water is automatically added to the system. Because of the initial fill using lake water, and the possibility that lake water will be added at other times, Interior Health requires that the boil water advisory remains in effect.

Also, please note that every time we turn the water back on after an outage, the silt in the pipes is disturbed, and may end up clogging, or at least further dirtying, any water filters you may have in place. You may be able to alleviate these effects by turning off all the water to your house at the water shut-off inside your house during the outage – say by 8AM Sat, and then turning it back on after the reservoir has been refilled, say by noon on Saturday. If possible, before you turn it back on, open an outside tap and then when you turn the water back on, let that outside tap run until the water is clear(er). If you are planning to change filters, doing so at least a day or two after the water changeover is likely to be a good plan.

At most non-residential properties within the Osoyoos Irrigation District (OID), flow control devices (FCD) are installed to limit the amount of water that flows to the property in a certain period – such as a maximum level of gallons per minute. This is not done to limit the total amount of water provided to these properties. Rather, it just affects the rate at which water is provided. These FCDs balance water flows within the system to help prevent certain areas not receiving sufficient water because other areas are drawing too much. (Water supply rates to residential properties are controlled by using smaller dimension water supply pipes.)

It has come to the attention of the OID that certain non-residential properties may have taken steps to affect the water flow rate either by removing or damaging the FCDs. Such actions are prohibited under OID bylaws, which further identify the costs of repairing any such actions as being at the expense of the property owner.

In this context, the OID’s water bailiff will be inspecting the FCDs installed at various properties to ensure that they have not been tampered with. If such tampering is detected, the FCD will be replaced/reinstalled/repaired, as appropriate, at the property owner’s expense. Failure to make timely payment for such repairs will lead to water disconnection as well as additional costs for the disconnection and (presumably) eventual reconnection.

If you have any questions about this policy, or wish to advise us where tampering to FCDs may have occurred, please email us, or contact the Water Bailiff, Bill Stewart

Last November, a valve on the Osoyoos Irrigation District’s (OID) main pipeline was replaced. A second valve, on a branch pipeline that feeds the northwest section of the OID, was also scheduled to be replaced at that time, but the work could not be completed. This second valve needs to be installed ahead of the irrigation season, and that work is now scheduled to be done next Wednesday, March 22, resulting in a possible water outage to some properties.

Due to the loop nature of our pipelines, two valves will have to be closed to facilitate the work and the lakeside pumps must be shut down. Specifically, the recently-installed valve on 52 Ave will be closed, as will a valve on 33 Street near the TELUS tower. The main pumps will be turned off at 8AM, with work expected to be completed sometime in the afternoon. Water from the reservoir, supplemented – to the extent possible – with water from the well, will be available to all properties other than:

(i) those fed by the branch pipeline that runs along 31 Street and then beyond to the northwest section of the OID.
(ii) properties on 41 Street, 39 Street, and the northern part of 37 Street (even-numbered properties from 3820 and up).
(iii) properties on 33 Street, north of the TELUS tower.

Water that is already in the pipelines will be available to these affected properties, but this supply cannot be replenished until the work is completed, so water outages and/or water pressure loss may occur. Similarly, other than via the well, the reservoir cannot be replenished during the outage. Hence, depending on water consumption during that time, outages and/or pressure losses may be experienced elsewhere in the OID.

Currently, we are still using as much water as the well can produce, but this has become insufficient to meet water demand. Most recent data indicate that about 1/3 of the OID’s daily water requirements are now being satisfied using lake water.

The projected date for shutting down the well and allowing irrigation to begin is Sat April 8. Please do not use any irrigation systems before this changeover.

Please email us if you have any questions about this outage.

The planned water outage that had been scheduled for Saturday November 12 and which had to be postponed due to the early snowfall has now been rescheduled for Saturday November 26, weather permitting. Although access to the reservoir to facilitate cleaning is now available, more snow is scheduled for tonight (Nov 16/17) and in any event the required personnel are not available this coming Saturday. Daytime maximum temperatures are supposed to be higher next week, although with further precipitation — hopefully just in the form of rain — so we are anticipating that we will be able to do the required work on Nov 26.

Provided this work goes ahead on Nov 26, we will change over to well water on this date. However, current water demand is too high to be satisfied by the well, which means that lake water will also have to be used. Hence, the boil water advisory remains in effect for the OID. Over the past week (Nov 9-16, 2022) — with irrigation having ended — average water consumption for the OID has been approximately 240 cubic metres (m3) per day. Maximum well output during the previous winter period was approximately 200 m3/day, but this started to drop in early December 2021, and by April 2022, just before we changed back to only lake water, had fallen to just over half of this amount, at 103 m3/day. (Total water demand — well + lake water –remained over 200 m3 almost every day throughout last winter). It therefore seems extremely unlikely that well water will be sufficient to satisfy OID water demand this winter. Note that average Canadian water use is less than 1.0 m3 per household per day, so with around 165 households in the OID, we are using way beyond this amount of water. (Our well licence allows us to use on average around 155 m3/day during the 160 day winter period).

We will send out a further notice confirming the planned water outage on Saturday 26 November (8AM – 4PM) closer to this date. Thank you for your patience with this process.

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.

Although we will switch over to well water on November 12 this year (the actual date varies from year to year), the date set for irrigation cutoff is always October 31. After this time, no irrigation – especially agricultural irrigation – can occur. The reason is that after October 31, FortisBC charges us more expensive electricity rates instead of the cheaper irrigation rates for electricity. Specifically, after October 31, every time any of our large pumps kicks in (which is quite frequently if irrigation is occurring), it pushes us to a higher rate schedule for electricity (which does not apply during the irrigation season), and this higher rate schedule persists throughout the winter period. During winter we run a much smaller pump if lake water is required to supplement the well water, which avoids these high motor/pump start-up costs, but this smaller pump cannot keep up with demand when agricultural irrigation is occurring.

So, the bottom line is that irrigation in the Osoyoos Irrigation District must end by October 31.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

There will be a water outage on Wednesday May 11 from 10:30 AM until approximately 12:30 PM, to allow a diver to clean the intake screens for the lake pumps. During this time the pumps have to be turned off, so water pressure may drop and outages may occur.

The break in the water main has been repaired and all water valves have been opened. Water service should now be available but water pressure may remain low for some time, possibly overnight. To refill the reservoir we need to use lake water, but the water level in the lake is so low at this time of year that we can only use the smallest of our four pumps, so that slows the rate at which the reservoir can be replenished.

It turns out that we have had to turn the lake pumps off to stem the water flow and also turn off more than one valve due to the 10 inch waterline that was broken. This means that everyone on the system may experience a lack of water and/or water pressure.

The good news is that we have a length of replacement pipe available. We expect that the repairs can be completed within 2-3 hours, at which time the pumps will be turned back on and water service restored to all properties.

The contractors working on regrading the site adjacent to 62 Ave have broken our main watermain. We are in the process of shutting off the water to properties on this part of the line – this will affect all properties on 31 Street, as well as those on 62 Ave and some along Highway 3. The water to these properties could be off for some time until repairs can be made. More information will be provided when it is available.