The last few years have seen the implementation of the following projects:

PRV 14 This pressure reducing valve is required to allow a second feed of water from the McKenzie area down to the Rutland valley floor. The station will allow future servicing by BMID staff of one of the largest PRVs in our system, PRV 1, which will be rebuilt in the near future. The valve will be installed in the spring of 2005.
Drought Planning In 2004, the Provincial Government awarded BMID funds to carry out Drought Planning for the District. The works included a Drought Management Plan, a Water Conservation Bylaw and the development of tools in which to assist the District in determining and assessing the potential impacts of a drought. Storage – volume curves and programs were set out for BMID to be used as an early warning system for assessing and dealing with a drought.
Water Treatment Plant Pre-Oxidation System To improve water quality, BMID is refining the treatment process at the WTP to improve water quality that the plant produces by approximately 15%. By adding a small amount of chlorine at the head of the coagulation process, turbidity and colour levels will be reduced. The cost effective process is utilized in other WTPs where colour reduction is an objective. ( Inset – jar testing apparatus for testing and optimizing varying chemical dosages)
Wildfire Management Plan As part of the follow up work from the Okanagan Mountain Park fire, BMID retained Dobson Engineering to set out methods in which the potential for a fire in the Mission Creek watershed could be reduced. The watershed has not experienced a major fire since the early 1900’s. Recommendations for the forest harvest licensees were developed along with fuel load mapping (amount of wood and underbrush), and emergency contact plans were developed.
Bell Mountain Pump Station This pump station is being constructed by the developer of the Bell Mountain property. The station is the largest that BMID will operate in the near future. The station has been built to BMID specifications and houses three 100 hp pumps and a smaller 20 hp duty pump. The pumps all operate with Variable drives to meet the varying water demand conditions. An emergency generator is also part of the installation. The station will be commissioned in the spring of 2005. ( Inset – photo of pumps and suction header pipe)
Streaming Current Monitor A streaming current monitor is being installed at the water treatment plant (WTP) this spring. The monitor has been purchased and the instrumentation to bring the data it produces into our WTP computer system. The SCM measures the electrical charge of the water and shows trends in the variation of that charge. As we have a chemical process to remove colour and turbidity, this unit helps to optimize how much chemical should be added to the water.
McCurdy Road Watermain During September of 2004, BMID in conjunction with the City of Kelowna ran utilities up the proposed McCurdy Road right-of-way. The work included the installation of 300 metres of 350mm diameter watermain to connect from McKenzie Road down to Morrison Road. Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) No. 14 will be installed to connect the pressure zones. Another section of watermain is proposed for 2005 to connect the highest pressure zone to below.
Water Treatment Plant–Sludge Removal System Removal of the colour and particles from the water at our WTP generates a significant amount of residue or sludge. In the fall of 2002, BMID modified the sludge handling system at the WTP to allow the operators to move the majority of sludge from the plant throughout the year. Two screw augers were installed along with two large sludge pumps so that cleaning time of the clarifiers would be significantly reduced. The project was completed in the spring of 2003. (inset is formwork for screw auger and pump base )
PRV No. 7 Renewal As part of maintaining and renewing the system to keep it current, BMID rebuilt the process piping and valving within PRV No. 7. This is an important station to our district as it services the majority of water to the Belgo area. It was successfully completed in the fall of 2004.