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The Black Mountain Irrigation District (BMID) is an improvement district operating within the Central Okanagan Regional District. A large portion of our service area falls within the City of Kelowna boundaries. The Scotty Creek subdivision area that we service located north and east of the airport lies within the Regional District of Central Okanagan. Our primary water sources are the Scotty Creek and Mission Creek watersheds.
As of January 1, 2005, BMID is the largest improvement district in the Province with 7,150 customers and a service population of approximately 21,000. Of those customers, 4,625 are single family residences with the remaining being multi-family units, commercial, industrial, and institutional connections.
In addition, there are 860 irrigation connections that irrigate the Belgo and McKenzie areas of Kelowna. We have three grades of land
- 4,116 acres of Grade A land. Grade A land
has rights to water and uses it;
- 1,163 acres of Grade C land. Grade C land
has rights to water but is presently dry;
- 1,690 acres of Grade D land. Grade D land does not have rights to water unless water is determined to be available and the regrade charge is paid.
With the combined water demands, our winter
demands of 2,000,000 US gallons increases to 40,000,000 US
gallons during the hottest days of summer. Our water is
collected in high elevation reservoirs during the winter and
spring runoff and is released to Mission Creek during the
hotter summer months and captured at our intake.
Our
upper level water storage reservoirs include Belgo Reservoir,
James Lake, Graystoke Lake and Fishhawk Reservoir. Mission
Creek is the largest tributary to Okanagan Lake and is a very
strong source of water for the District. The annual flow past
our intake gates is 135,000 ML. |
Greystoke Resevoir and Dam |
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Conveyance Conduit |
After we capture the water at Mission Creek,
the water is treated, disinfected, and conveyed by large
conduits to town. (see photo inset)
The conveyance
conduit carries the water at a very flat grade along the
Mission Creek canyon to a tunnel located on the shoulder of
Black Knight Mountain. The 900 metre long tunnel carries the
water into town maintaining the high elevation resulting in
minimal pumping and very efficient distribution throughout our
water system. |
| The tunnel emerges at our Surge Tower located
above the Gallaghers Road subdivision. From here the water
enters distribution mains and is carried into the agricultural
and more populated areas of Rutland and north Rutland. |
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The entire water supply system consists of:
- 600 square kilometers of watershed in Mission Creek and Scotty Creek basins;
- 4 large storage reservoirs and dams in the watershed;
- Two intakes on major creeks;
- 105 ML/day water treatment plant ( currently 2nd largest in the province)
- Two large open holding reservoirs 200,000 m3 in size for balancing daily water demands;
- 3 chlorination stations;
- 3 groundwater wells;
- 13 pressure zones;
- 13 pressure reducing stations;
- 3 water pumping stations;
- One local storage reservoir; and
- 165 kilometers of water distribution main.
These facilities and our offices are
maintained and operated by our 14 staff members.
A map showing the boundary of BMID is located at the follow link: Map of the BMID
You
can also click on the
thumbnail below for an alternative map.
Improvement District Responsibilities
As an improvement district, BMID is an autonomous local government body responsible for providing water services for the benefits of our ratepayers. Improvement Districts were brought into existence by the Province through a Cabinet Order approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The Lieutenant Governor approved the Letters Patent which includes the name of the District, its boundary, and the services it provides. BMID’s Letters Patent was signed on November 20th, 1920.
The affairs of BMID are directed by five elected Trustees with one Trustee elected as Chairman by the group. Each trustee is elected for a three-year term by the eligible landowners of the district. The powers that are exercised by the Trustees include the ability to enact and enforce the district bylaws. These bylaws provide BMID with the ability to assess and collect taxes, to charge tolls for water use, to acquire, hold and dispose of lands, to borrow money, and to expropriate lands required to carry out its objectives. All bylaws must be approved by the Inspector of Municipalities.
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