Sewer line expansion from Okanagan Falls to Skaha Estates and Kaleden will proceed when senior government funding becomes available, residents were told at the October 16 town hall meeting in Okanagan Falls.
One hundred and forty lots, comprising 32 hectares and bounded by an area east of Oak Avenue, along Alder and Ponderosa and including First and Fifth Avenues will be hooked up to the Okanagan Falls wastewater treatment plant in the first phase, Regional District Okanagan Falls Engineer Liisa Bloomfield told those assembled.
“The bench area of upper Kaleden is not economically feasible at present,” Bloomfield explained.
Current plans - which are conceptual only - route the sewer line up Eastside Road to Skaha Estates. From there, it will travel underneath Skaha Lake to the Kaleden lakeshore.
There are 183 connections in Skaha Estates.
Estimates peg the cost for Kaleden at 7.8 million dollars, or $154,000 per connection; however with two thirds funding, that figure will drop to $18,000 per connection. Kaleden ratepayers would be on the hook for 3,220 metres of gravity sewers, 1,600 metres of forcemain, 1,00 metres of lake forcemain and two liftstations.
Skaha Estates costs are estimated at 7.8 million dollars, with individual connections ultimately pegged at $15,000. Skaha Estates ratepayers would be paying for 4,400 metres of gravity sewers, 1,000 metres of forcemain and two liftstations.
The forcemain from Skaha Estates to the wastewater treatment plant would be cost shared between the two communitys.
Several residents present at the meeting urged the regional district to continue work towards bringing the sewer connection to the two communities. Bloomfield outlined next steps, which included the development of a preliminary design, applying for grant funds and creating a service area. She said work on the connection could begin in as early as five years.