Lake Okanagan Resort residents push for new water treatment plant, following McDougall Fire

Two years after the McDougall Creek wildfire destroyed 90 percent of Lake Okanagan Resort — including its privately owned water system — nearly 200 residents are still waiting for answers. With no clear path forward, frustration is mounting.

“Step up and show some real action toward resolving this so we can start building our building and get people home,” said Lake Okanagan community member Heather Ormiston.

Residents can’t begin rebuilding until basic services — power, sewer, and water — are restored. In a statement, the BC Utilities Commission said, “Lake Okanagan Resort is responsible for requesting re-connection to the BC Hydro system to power its own facilities, such as its water treatment plant.” Both the BCUC and Interior Health confirm they have no authority to compel the resort’s owners to repair or operate the system.

“Interior Health regulates community water systems under the Drinking Water Protection Act, with responsibility for overseeing water quality, testing, and treatment safety standards,” said Interior Health.

“The Lake Okanagan Resort is a privately owned water system that was significantly damaged during the McDougall Creek fire.”
With no clear movement from the resort’s owners, residents have taken matters into their own hands — proposing a new water treatment facility that would be built and operated by the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO). Ormiston pointed to a nearby site she says could work. “We have all this land — this would be a great spot for our new water treatment plant.”

However, the district says it does not have the legal authority to create or manage water infrastructure on private property. Despite this, residents remain hopeful. “We’ve engaged with professionals,” Ormiston said. “And we feel that this could be happening by this spring if we get all levels of government to the table.”

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Now, West Kelowna–Peachland MLA Macklin McCall is calling on the Premier to intervene. In a letter sent to David Eby, the BC Conservative MLA urged ministry-level action, the potential expropriation of the resort’s water system, and emergency funding to build a new, reliable water solution for the displaced community.

“This overrules,” McCall said. “It has the province potentially come in and say, ‘Okay, here’s the issue, here’s what our authorities are — we’re going to take possession of it.’”

He stressed this should be treated as an emergency, not a political issue. “I am absolutely on board to sit down with the ministers, with the Premier,” McCall said. “A fire came through. These people — they need water. These are their homes.”

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