The City of Vernon is currently working to repair a broken irrigation pipe in the 500 block of Commonage Road, adjacent to Roses Pond.
The City of Vernon is currently working to repair a broken irrigation pipe in the 500 block of Commonage Road, adjacent to Roses Pond.
In order to complete the repair, the City’s spray irrigation system must be shut down and water temporarily diverted to Okanagan Lake, via the deep-lake outfall pipe. The shut down is expected to take place the week of April 22, 2024 and last for approximately one day.
Unique in the Okanagan area, the City typically uses 100% of its high-quality treated wastewater to supply irrigation water to local golf courses, agricultural lands, parks, and other properties.
The City also has the ability to divert treated reclaimed water to the Okanagan Lake when necessary. When treated water is diverted from the spray irrigation system it enters the Okanagan Lake through a pipe than runs approximately 7 km into lake and ends 60 m below the surface.
To ensure that both the land and lake ecosystems are protected, reclaimed water from the Vernon Water Reclamation Centre (VWRC) is treated to very high standards, set by the Ministry of Environment, and monitored accordingly.
To learn more about the water reclamation process and spray irrigation in Vernon, please visit the City’s website at vernon.ca/water-reclamation. To learn more about the irrigation pipe repair currently in progress please visit vernon.ca/roads-transportation/projects/spray-irrigation-repair.