The City of Kelowna is flushing out the idea of building and running its own sani-dump.
This despite a staff report suggesting the cost may not be worth it.
"I'm looking at it from the tourism perspective,” Councillor Luke Stack said at council’s May 5 meeting. “If I drove into a city with an RV, I would expect there would be somewhere in that area that I could get fresh water, and get rid of grey water, etc.”
The staff report, requested by council last June, outlines high costs and uncertain demand. The issue was raised amid concerns about the limited number of places for RV owners to legally and safely dispose of their wastewater in the city, and the potential impact that could have on tourism.
Currently, there are no municipally owned RV dump stations in Kelowna. The only public option within city limits is a private sani-dump located at the Shell gas station on Highway 33. There are eight licensed agri-tourism RV campgrounds in the Kelowna area, seven of which advertise on-site sanitary services, according to the staff report.
“I think that there is a need out there,” Coun. Charlie Hodge noted. “I am surprised at the low number of spots available.”
While supportive of the city looking at the feasibility of operating a sani-dump, Coun. Loyal Wooldridge pointed out that it will come at a cost.
“At the end of the day we're here to serve the public and this is definitely something that's being requested, just mindful that there will be a capital cost and the likelihood of seeing costs recovered will be low.”
Staff told council that a permanent site with basic features would cost anywhere between $100,000 and $250,000 to build. Annual operating expenses are estimated at $15,000. Although user fees could potentially cover ongoing maintenance, staff say the upfront construction costs would likely never be recouped. They also caution that charging a fee could make the facility less appealing to tourists.
Staff also reached out to local businesses to see if there might be interest in partnering with the city, but there were no takers.
It was suggested that a facility might be established at the Glenmore landfill. However, staff pointed out that the surrounding lands are within the Agriculture Land Reserve (ALR), and there is a process through the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) to unlock those lands.
“We do have some private RV campgrounds on the ALR, but their facilities are only available for guests,” Coun. Ron Cannan noted. “So I think working with the ALC we should be able to look at whether it’s the landfill (possible site).”
Cannan added that he knows of two private individuals who might be willing to partner of the city to build and operate a facility.
Staff reviewed about a dozen potential city-owned sites that could technically support a sani-dump. However, the 10-year capital plan and 2025 capital budget do not include a program that is aligned with developing such a facility.
Council directed staff to further investigate the feasibility of a city owned and operated facility.
“There is a cost associated with that, but if council would like to utilize that tool and create a service and deliver to our our community, the path is through the budget process,” City Manager Doug Gilchrist said.
