Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
The City of Kamloops is taking additional steps to protect residential drinking water. Council on Tuesday (Sept. 20) authorized a new cross connection control program, enforcement measures and spending of about $100,000 on a full-time staff member. Bylaws were read for the first three times and will return to council for adoption at a later date. Mayor Ken Christian and councillors Dale Bass, Dieter Dudy, Sadie Hunter, Bill Sarai, Kathy Sinclair, Arjun Singh and Denis Walsh voted in favour.
Water and sewer services in Kamloops will cost you a little bit more over the next five years. The City of Kamloops will be increasing water rates by one per cent in 2023 with sewer rates going up 2.5 per cent, translating into a combined increase of $16 on average for a Kamloops homeowner. Utility Services Manager Greg Wightman says Kamloops has Canada’s most complex water distribution system owing to the topography and the way the city has grown through sprawl.
