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 project will include the construction of a raw-water line to treat groundwater in Osoyoos, which is not currently treated and is high in manganese. The province said these upgrades will allow the water to be properly disinfected with chlorine and ultraviolet systems. The upgrades are expected to meet the Guidelines of Canadian Drinking Water Quality and Interior Health’s drinking water standards.
Residents who live near Osoyoos Lake, on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, are in Osoyoos this week to discuss the health of the international waterway that connects them. The water science forum made its return to the Okanagan Valley for the first time since 2015 – the event was to be held a couple of years ago but was put on hold due to the COVID pandemic.
The mayor of Osoyoos will serve a fourth term as chair of the Okanagan Basin Water Board. Sue McKortoff was acclaimed by her fellow board members at the OBWB board meeting Tuesday (Feb. 1). Also returning for another term is vice-chair Cindy Fortin, the mayor of Peachland. McKortoff has called the OBWB a “one of a kind” water management advisory board in Canada, citing its progressive initiatives for addressing climate change weather impacts, pushing for better invasive mussels policies to protect regional waterways and to enhance and promote local water use education programs.
There is little doubt the Okanagan is on the front lines of climate change, living between drought and extreme fire seasons. The town of Oliver only received 2.5 millimetres of rain in May compared to the average of 34.7 mm over the past 30 years in that month. There is less water available per person in the Okanagan than anywhere else in Canada. The Okanagan also has one of the highest rates of water use per person in Canada.
