The B.C. government has approved a $50,000 grant for the District of Sicamous to begin the effort to upgrade the community's water supply.
Bill Bennett, the province's minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, was in Sicamous Wednesday to make the announcement – following through on a commitment made by Premier Christy Clark at the recent Union of BC Municipalities convention.
"I want you to know… Bill has asked me to make sure we set this right. I know you need that water supply fixed, and we are going to help you do it,” Clark stated in her speech to UBCM delegates.
While in Sicamous, Bennett was escorted by Mayor Darrell Trouton on a tour of the community and areas impacted by the June 23 debris flow in Two Mile.
Bennett told the News that the $50,000 is specifically for a pilot project that will "test the technology the District of Sicamous is proposing to use for the drinking water treatment project that will come next," a treatment facility expected to cost $4.5 million.
"It is preliminary but our staff has worked with the district staff and we think it's pretty close, a pretty reliable number, so we're currently looking for the $4.5 million to do it," said Bennett. "I don't know where we're going to get all the money from yet, but it's my top priority in the province and I need to find a way to make it happen. I just don't know where all the money is going to come from yet."
See more in next week's Eagle Valley News.