A performance audit of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen’s management of its drinking water systems found that the Regional District had some good practices in place but would benefit from taking a more systematic and proactive approach in several key areas, Auditor General for Local Government (AGLG) Gordon Ruth said today.
“The Regional District was successful in meeting some of the audit’s core expectations and had infrastructure in place to ensure quality drinking water in two of the three systems we examined,” said Mr. Ruth. “By implementing the report’s recommendations and completing work that was already underway to address issues in the Faulder water system, the Regional District would help ensure successful drinking water management into the future.”
The audit reviewed three different drinking water systems operated by the Regional District (Faulder, Naramata and Olalla) as well as the Regional District’s overall governance and activities relating to drinking water provision.
The AGLG’s comprehensive report describes the complexity of managing drinking water delivery in British Columbia, focusing on how the Regional District operated the three audited systems during the period covered by the audit, from source to tap.
Mr. Ruth said, “We were pleased to find that the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen had a sound governance structure, collaborated with stakeholders and had numerous water conservation and demand management initiatives. The Regional District could build on these strengths by developing a more strategic and cohesive approach that brings together areas such as water source protection, demand management, emergency management and business continuity. It should ensure that its plans are up-to-date, relevant and include action plans that are fully implemented.”
The report’s 24 recommendations include eight relating to the Regional District’s governance and organization-wide activities relating to drinking water. Seven recommendations touch on the protection of water sources, while another three deal with water treatment and quality management. Four relate to drinking water storage and distribution and two cover communications and public awareness.
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Audit of three water systems: Naramata, Faulder and Ollala
GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITIES SUPPORTING DRINKING WATER SERVICES
1. The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen should continue moving forward with those water-related initiatives identified in its regional growth strategy that arewithin its mandate and develop performance measures to assess its progress. These should be reported to the Board and the public on aregular basis.
2. The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen should update its water systemgovernance transfer policy and identify actionsand timelines for processes that take place following an acquisition, such as updating legacy bylaws, reviewing existing governance nd advisory structures and others.
3. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should continue developing an asset management framework to enable it to make informed, cost-effective asset investment decisions – including decisions related to water systems – based on known asset conditions, risk analysis, full lifecycle costing and potential sources of revenue.
4. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should consider a full cost recovery approach as part of its water service planning that:
•• Ensures that funding for water systems is sufficient to sustain them indefinitely and that funds are appropriately spent
•• Promotes more efficient use of water, allowing the deferral of capacity expansions and the reduction of costs5. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should improve data collection, analysis, monitoring and reporting on its water services as part of a continual improvement process. This should include:
•• A performance measurement system for its water services
•• Monitoring of progress
•• Regular reporting to the Board, seniormanagement and public on results
6. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should implement information technology (it) general controls over its scadsystem and otherrelate systems and treat them as part of its it infrastructure, subject to organization-wide it policies and procedures.
7. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should complete business continuity planning for its critical services – including drinking water – to ensure the continuation of service and sustainable infrastructure throughout potential disruptions.
8. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should enhance its emergency and contingency planning by:
•• Ensuring that emergency response plans are regularly updated, tested, made accessible and familiar to all staff
•• Ensuring that backup power is available for all water systems
•• Providing backup pumps and motors onsite at the Faulder water facility
9. The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen should develop a source water protection plan for Naramata that identifies risks and addresses the Regional District’s contributions to source water protection. It should consider enhancing the existing plans for Faulder and Olalla.
10. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should take steps to mitigate risks identified in the Olalla Groundwater Protection plan to the 60-day well capture zone.
11. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should consider the addition of source water protection regulations to relevant bylaws, where appropriate, as they are reviewed and updated and as new bylaws are developed.
12. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should engage with relevant stakeholders and other water systems in the region to:
•• Understand regional risks related to source water
•• Improve regional conservation strategies, drought and climate change responses
•• Improve planning of drinking water supply
•• Build community support for source water protection
13. The Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen should ensure that it has feasible plans for the implementation of backup options for drinking water supplies in the case of primary water supply service disruption.
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