Town receives Federal Gas Tax Fund for Rural Area Water System Twinning

Town of Osoyoos receives Federal Gas Tax Fund contribution for Rural Area Water System Twinning

Phase 1 - GREEN AREA identified for completion with Gas Tax funding by year end 2018. 
Phase 2 - PINK AREA to be determined start and completion dates.
Phase 3 - YELLOW AREA to be determined start and completion dates.

News Release
For Immediate Release
February 12, 2016
Printable Version

This project is phase one of five phases of an $11 million project to supply municipal domestic water to 450 users in the Osoyoos Rural Area. This phase will see construction of 9.3 km of water main to supply 132 users in the southern half of Irrigation District 8. The estimated total cost of this phase is $3,723,000, with $2,472,000 contributed by Gas Tax Strategic Priorities Grant and the remaining $1,251,000 matching funds coming from municipal water reserve accounts.

Residents in the Osoyoos Rural Area are provided domestic water by the Town of Osoyoos from Irrigation Systems 8 and 9, both of which are supplied from intakes in Osoyoos Lake.  A boil water advisory is imposed annually during the irrigation season (April to October) within the service area of Systems 8 and 9 on advice of the Interior Health Authority (IHA). The annual boil water advisories date back at least a decade and reflect non-compliance with the IHA 43210 drinking water standards and the Drinking Water Regulation. Drinking water quality related deficiencies include inadequate disinfection, high turbidity and the lack of a second treatment barrier, i.e. filtration for surface water sources. The project objective is to achieve compliance with IHA standards by providing a separate domestic water distribution system in the rural area which will be supplied by groundwater sources through the Town's municipal water system. The project will also assist in developing municipal level fire protection and includes water meter installation to assist in achieving water conservation goals.

Project will be tendered with a fall of 2016 construction start and a seasonally adjusted 2 year implementation period.

Quick Facts

• The “Rural Area Water System Twinning is receiving $2,472,000 from the federal Gas Tax Fund.
• The Town of Osoyoos is also contributing $1,251,000 to the project.
• The total estimated cost of this project is $3,723,000.
• This project is one of the 57 projects that are being funded through the Strategic Priorities Fund under the Federal Gas Tax Fund for 2016. 
• The Union of BC Municipalities administers the Federal Gas Tax Fund in British Columbia in partnership with the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
• Each year, the Government of Canada provides over $253 million in indexed funding for local government infrastructure projects across British Columbia through the federal Gas Tax Fund. The funding can be spent on any eligible project the community prioritizes across a broad range of eligible project categories, or it can be pooled with other communities for regional projects, banked for later priorities or used to pay for financed projects.

Quotes

“Through the federal Gas Tax Fund, the Government of Canada is allowing communities in BC, and all across Canada, to make informed decisions about their infrastructure investments and how best to spend federal dollars. Community officials are best positioned to identify their specific needs, and the federal Gas Tax fund supports them in making those strategic investments. These 57 projects will contribute to building the strong, inclusive and sustainable communities Canadians desire to live in.”

Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

“These funds will help support the construction of infrastructure improvements that will provide a better standard of living for residents in communities all across B.C. I’m pleased to say that local governments throughout the province are receiving more than $69 million in funding for 27 capital projects through the Federal Gas Tax Fund, which is administered by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and provided by the Government of Canada.”

Honourable Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development

“The Town of Osoyoos is very pleased to receive a grant to provide Phase 1 of “water twinning” to the rural Osoyoos area. This long-awaited project will assist in providing improved domestic water service to 132 rural users, and to assist in developing municipal level fire protection standards. The project objective will provide compliance with Interior Health standards and eliminate the need to have annual “boil water” advisories. We look forward to starting this construction in 2016, with a 2018 completion date.”

Sue McKortoff, Mayor, Town of Osoyoos

“The federal Gas Tax Fund is helping local governments accelerate their capital investment plans. These investments will support improved levels of service for facilities in communities throughout BC. The 189 local governments that we represent appreciate the ongoing commitment of the Government of Canada to improving local infrastructure. We are also pleased with the valued support provided by the Province of British Columbia to deliver this program.”

Al Richmond, President, Union of BC Municipalities

Associated Links

To learn more about the federal Gas Tax Fund visit:
http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/gtf-fte-eng.html

To learn more about other projects recently announced under the Strategic Priorities Fund visit:
http://infc.gc.ca/b5a1

Local government link:
www.osoyoos.ca

Contacts

Barry Romanko, CAO
(T)  250.495.6515
(E)  bromanko@osoyoos.ca