Notice at the foot of Heritage Hills on Bulletin Bd.

Many voices have more impact it says with residents of Heritage Hills and Lakeshore Highlands urged to write the Water Rights Comptroller in Victoria.

Lakeshore Waterworks Ltd. is a private company that distributes water to the east of Skaha Lake.

The RDOS has looked at taking over the water system but will not be buying it.

The Homeowners Association has a position of favouring public ownership of the water utility but bought and developed homes on the hillside with the full knowledge of where the water comes from.

Home owners received a notice recently that Victoria will be asked to approve an annual rate of $912. There are about 250 connections paying $114 per quarter with some volume restrictions in the summer. That’s double the cost.

Doug Lychak who speaks for homeowners says the real story is the 2008 BC Ombudsman’s Report on Water which recommended that all small water utilities should come under public control. Lychak knows of what he speaks as a former City Manager of Surrey. He asks “where did Water Act changes go?”

Lychak wants the owner of the water utility to prove an increase is needed by a thorough financial view of the books.

He also says the water company and the development company in the area are linked and he questions that relationship.

Fit to Drink: Challenges in Providing Safe Drinking Water in British Columbia

Ombudsman Kim Carter’s report into how the provincial government and regional health authorities can improve the processes that ensure the safety of drinking water provides 39 recommendations to accomplish this goal. Key among the recommendations is that health authorities develop better systems for dealing with complaints about water quality and put more resources toward effective public communications.