Questions and Answers

The last and final phase of construction of the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant requires installation of critical watermain infrastructure in the Sunnyside and West Kelowna Estates neighbourhoods. 

The project includes installation of 3.7 kilometres of underground water mains in two sections: 

• Sunnyside: Menu Road through Ourtoland and Ogden Roads to the Ogden-Boucherie intersection.
• West Kelowna Estates: Westlake Road from Starlight Crescent intersection through Parkinson Road. 

To minimize impacts on the community, construction is also being coordinated with active transportation upgrades on Westlake and Parkinson Roads, from West Kelowna Road to Pettman Road and with drainage improvements on Rosewood Drive.

The Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia awarded the City of West Kelowna a funding contribution of $41 million toward construction of Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant under the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund. The project budget remains unchanged at up to $75 million.

What portion of my utility bills cover the cost of the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant?

Water is metered in the City of West Kelowna and the usage portion of your bill is based on consumption. 

The other portion of rates covers the fixed costs of running and maintaining the system. Utility staff work continuously to flush water mains, reduce turbidity and operate the vast system that gets water from upland reservoirs (Big Horn, Esperon, Rose Valley, etc.) to customers in the Lakeview System or up from Okanagan Lake to the Pritchard/Sunnyside and West Kelowna Estates Systems.

The fixed rate also includes debt repayment for past improvements and another component to cover future required upgrades and replacements.

We recognize that construction has short term impacts to neighbourhoods and we appreciate your patience and understanding while we install critical water infrastructure.

During construction, local traffic, transit and emergency services will continue. There may be short delays, traffic pattern changes and impacts to parking, depending on construction activities. The contractor, Bluepoint Construction, will work with property owners directly to coordinate access and help address any short term disruptions. 

Watermains are underground pipes that deliver a steady supply of fresh, clean drinking water to our community. A water transmission main is used to transport larger supplies of water from reservoirs or other storage facilities to the distribution system, where it is then distributed to homes and businesses.

View the map to determine if you are located within the Local Area Service (LAS) that will be serviced by the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant.

The Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant (RVWTP) is a state-of-the-art facility that will eliminate the need for turbidity-related water quality advisories. A similar facility to the Powers Creek Water Treatment Plant, the RVWTP will use coagulation, flocculation, dissolved air flotation, filtration, ultraviolet disinfection and chlorination to provide clean drinking water.

Currently, the chlorine-only facilities that serve the Lakeview, Pritchard/Sunnyside and West Kelowna Estates Systems were built in the 1970s and do not meet modern, federal and provincial drinking water requirements. 

The Lakeview System gets its water from Rose Valley Reservoir. The Pritchard/Sunnyside and West Kelowna Estates Systems receives water from Okanagan Lake and must be pumped up to houses.