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B.C. government injects $2.5 million into Radium Hot Springs’ water system

Radium Hot Springs, B.C. – The British Columbia government is investing $2.5 million to ensure local residents have a more reliable quality of water year-round.

The provincially funded project is to include the installation of a sedimentation pond and a new raw water intake and screening chamber at the Forster Creek source. The work is to increase water clarity, improving year-round potable water and to allow the community to meet regulatory requirements.

Raw water intake systems draw from natural water sources. Sedimentation ponds allow solids to settle in a controlled way to prevent contaminants from entering a community’s water systems.

“Across B.C. we are seeing droughts and the need for water restrictions becoming more common each summer,” Brittny Anderson, MLA for Nelson-Creston, said. “This funding acknowledges that now, more than ever, we need stay on top of water conservation and water distribution to keep everyone safe and healthy, especially as our communities experience the impacts of climate change.”

Mike Gray, mayor of the Village of Radium Hot Springs, said: “The new water intake and sedimentation pond will improve water quality year round in Radium Hot Springs. As our community grows, with average water use doubling during the summer months, these upgrades to our water supply systems will be vital to residents’ health and wellness.”

The improvements are part of a $450-million provincial investment in critical community infrastructure to support clean drinking water, wastewater, and solid waste treatment and greenhouse gas reduction through public infrastructure projects in communities province-wide.

This is in addition to the $1-billion Growing Communities Fund, which was provided to all 188 B.C. municipalities and regional districts to support their infrastructure and amenities needs.