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Vol. 91 Issue 4 • Wednesday, January 22, 2014 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 •
PM40036531
RCMP crusier set ablaze, police seek public’s help Black Press
The Slocan Lake RCMP have released a photo of a police cruiser which was set on fire back in December. At 2:45 a.m. on December 19, 2013 Slocan Lake RCMP responded to the report of a fire in front of the RCMP Detachment in New Denver. Police attended to discover the front of the vehicle fully engulfed in flames. The New Denver Fire Department attended and were able to extinguish the fire prior to it spreading to the detachment. No injuries were sustained as a result of the fire, however the vehicle was burnt beyond repair. The vehicle and scene were examined; evidence obtained indicates that the fire was suspicious in nature. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Slocan Lake RCMP at 250-358-2223 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Slocan Lake RCMP are asking the public for help to solve a suspicious police vehicle fire which occurred on December 19, 2013 in front of the detachment in New Denver. Courtesy RCMP
Water and sewer rates on rise, but operating costs still unknown
Mike Pedersen explains part of the Nakusp water system to NSS students as part of the Know Your Watershed Program. Courtesy Know Your Watershed Claire paradis Arrow Lakes News
Water and sewer bills will be going out next month, but setting the rates with an eye to the future has been a challenge for the Village due to major utility projects still being in the works. In order to understand how the proposed
rates for water and sewer are set, Nakusp mayor and council attended a presentation by CAO Linda Tynan, CFO Rob Richards and Director of Operations Mike Pedersen. The two utilities have had major projects in construction for years now, and unknowns about what it will take to run them has made forecasting costs difficult. Once the sewer and water treatment plants are up and running, long term financing
“ I want to know more about mutual funds.”
strategies will be possible and a priority, said Tynan. The major overhaul of both sewer and water treatment was long overdue, said Pedersen, who told council that Nakusp has been close to its maximum capacity for both for a long time. “Did you know the Village was experiencing a water crisis?” he asked. Growth in the population has been severely limited by water and sewer capacities. For example, a shift in the course of the Kuskanax River one year had resulted in the need for watering restrictions. The inability of sewage lagoons to empty in time for more waste input was another sign that major changes needed to be made. Without the new water system, Nakusp has been using water that is technically untreated. Although the water is filtered and chlorinated, the water is considered untreated. With the new system that includes UV treatment, the Village will be bringing its system into compliance with water regulations. What the cost of that compliance actually is, is still unknown. Although Pedersen said that at the moment chemical costs are high and likely higher than what they will be with the new system as the amount of chlorine required will drop, what operating costs will be are still undetermined. A bright light on the water side is the micro-hydro plant, which was not only
financed 100 per cent by grants as a green technology, but will also be generating money as well as power. The plant was started up on Wednesday, Jan. 15, and a conservative projection is that it will bring in $30,000 a year. Mayor Karen Hamling commented that it was indeed one of those projects where Hydro “pays us [as small power producers] more than we pay them” that has been criticized for driving up consumer Hydro rates. In this case, it’s to the advantage of the Village. Another part of the water system upgrade is the development of Well #2, a second source of water that with its flow rate of 60 litres per second (versus the first well which flows at 25 litres/second) will easily supply redundancy for the entire water system. It will also make expansion of water up the north road a possibility. With the need for an upgraded sewer system, the Village took advantage of the opportunity to develop green components such as a water reclamation system. This system will filter water and make it usable for irrigation of fields and green space in the Village. Grants that have made work on the waste water system have been available because there are innovative green components, which have been drawing a lot of attention from around the province.
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