Transition official: Glenmore Ellison Improvement District to join City of Kelowna Water Utility
The Glenmore Ellison Improvement District (GEID) and City of Kelowna will officially join forces now that an Order in Council has been signed by the Province.
"People living in the Okanagan will soon have better access to important services and strong infrastructure that they need and rely on," said Anne Kang, Minister of Municipal Affairs. "Our provincial government is pleased to support and to see the successful completion of this agreement between Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District and the City of Kelowna. This new partnership will ensure community vibrancy and resiliency, so residents in this area can benefit for many decades to come."
In March 2024, the GEID board unanimously signed a Transition Agreement with the goal of transferring the operation of GEID to the City of Kelowna. The conversion is consistent with Kelowna’s Integrated Water Supply Plan and provincial policies that call for improvement districts to gradually shift to local governments.
“We are pleased to be working with GEID through this transition as we integrate water supply connectivity and operations to improve the overall resiliency of the system – which is becoming even more important as we continue to grow.” said Mayor Tom Dyas. “Our goal is to create a model for transitions that is simple, collaborative, and can easily be replicated locally and throughout the province. Our focus, throughout this process, has always been on the wellbeing of GEID’s services and employees, and to the residents we now service.”
The gradual change will begin January 1, 2025 and run through 2027. GEID staff and operations will be maintained as a business unit within the City to enable a smooth operational change. All GEID and City of Kelowna water utility customers will receive the same level of service through the transition while improving reliability, resiliency, and value in response to significant growth and climate change.
“The Board of Trustees and GEID staff are proud of the legacy we leave – including the successful completion of all major capital projects needed to deliver high quality drinking and agricultural water to the Glenmore and Ellison valleys,” said Steven Bonn, Board Chair of GEID. “GEID’s strong financial position will allow a seamless operational transition.”
Unifying the systems benefits both GEID and City water utility customers through improved supply and resiliency with better interconnectivity and integration of operations, and more effective and efficient emergency response across both systems, especially with a larger pool of trained water operators. In addition, GEID ratepayers will now have access to provincial grants for major capital projects along with lower interest rates through the Municipal Finance Authority.
For more information, visit geid.ca or kelowna.ca/water.
Background
The Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District (GEID) is currently one of four main water suppliers in Kelowna. The district’s boundaries extend across 3,787 hectares. Of this, 1,922 hectares are serviced with water with 841 hectares of agricultural land. GEID supplies water to approximately 9,600 residential service connections, serving an estimated population of 24,000.
Water supplied from Okanagan Lake supplies potable water for both domestic and agricultural use. The GEID drinking water supply system is pumped from the lake to the McKinley UV Treatment Plant, where it is treated before being delivered by gravity through a pipeline distribution network like the City of Kelowna’s Water Utility. The District also supplies treated potable water from Okanagan Lake and non-potable water from Mill Creek to irrigated areas in the Ellison area, generally east of Kelowna International Airport.
The City of Kelowna water utility is the largest water provider in the city, providing water to over half of Kelowna’s population. The City utility operates through four intakes on Okanagan Lake at Poplar Point, Eldorado, Cedar Creek and Swick Road pump stations, and provides water that meets or exceeds Canadian Drinking water guidelines and Interior Health water quality requirements. With the addition of the GEID area, the City Water Utility would service over 100,000 people, or about two-thirds of the population of Kelowna.
