The City of Kelowna water utility follows a “source to tap” water management approach to provide our customers with the highest quality water possible. From preservation and protection of our watersheds, to water quality monitoring, we exceed the requirements outlined in BC’s Safe Drinking Water Regulation.

Source Water
Okanagan Lake is a high quality water source. Temperature, turbidity and pH are monitored 24 hours a day by on-line sampling equipment .

Testing
Further testing is handled by certified water quality technicians who perform over 5,000 water quality tests each month on source water and water in the distribution system.

Bacteria analysis scans for E. Coli and Total Coliform are conducted daily.

Additional water samples are sent to private certified labs for more detailed testing. All test results are forwarded to provincial health authorities who perform additional sampling and testing on source and distribution waters.

Notification
Water distribution and reservoir facilities have online water quality monitoring equipment in place, allowing for 24-hour surveillance. Staff and public authorities are immediately notified of any fluctuations.

Treatment
Source water is chlorinated at the intakes for disinfection to inactivate viruses, bacteria and some parasites. (Any residual chlorine taste can be eliminated by storing an open pitcher of water in the refrigerator.)

UV Light Treatment will be installed at all pump stations in 2005. UV treatment has proven effective in inactivating hardier water-borne parasites (such as cryptosporidium and giardia) that are resistant to chlorine.

The City of Kelowna does not fluoridate its water.

Maintenance
All water mains are flushed regularly to prevent bacterial re-growth (see overleaf). All storage reservoirs are drained, scrubbed and disinfected yearly.

Average Values

Hardness pH Arsenic Lead Mercury Uranium Cadmium Cyanide Iron Sodium-dissolved Chlorine-Total THMs - Total

City of Kelowna 110 mg/L 7.8-8.20 not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected not detected 0.025 mg/L 9.9 mg/L 0.75 mg/L 30 - 60 ppb

Canadian Guidlines 500 mg/L 6.5-8.5 0.025 0.010 0.001 0.1 0.005 0.2 0.3 200 4 < 100

The water is chlorinated at the lake intake sites between 1.50 and 2.00 mg/L. Throughout the distribution system the chlorine concentration ranges between 0.10 mg/L and 0.90 mg/L.


Water Main Flushing

City crews are flushing water mains in your area. Water main flushing is an essential component of the City of Kelowna Water Utility’s water management program, ensuring the best possible water quality and a healthy drinking water system.

Why do the water mains need to be flushed? Flushing is a common practice in the water industry to ensure that pipes remain free of sediment build up. The water utility flushes over 300 kilometres of pipe each year to prevent bacterial re-growth and stagnation in low circulation areas of the distribution system. All storage reservoirs are also drained, scrubbed and disinfected.

Pipe #1 shows build-up along pipe walls. Pipe #2 shows clean walls after flushing.

How is flushing done? City crews use fire hydrants to draw high velocity water through the pipes, removing minor sediment that may have accumulated. Samples are taken prior to and after flushing to ensure the flushing has been successful. Flushing is generally done every year between March and October.

Fire hydrants and blow off valves throughout the system are used as flush-out points.

Where does all the water go? Water flushed from hydrants is not wasted. It is de-chlorinated in the flushing truck and re-used to clean streets, storm drainage systems and sanitary sewers. The water is dechlorinated to protect streams and Okanagan Lake. It is not practical to re-use this water for irrigation, filling residential swimming pools or other purposes.

Flushed water performs an essential task cleaning sewers.

Top