A new aeration system will pump oxygen into a third of a West Kelowna reservoir to improve drinking water quality.

The upgrade is one of several initiatives designed to avoid a repeat of elevated manganese levels that sparked considerable public concern last summer.

“It will be far more of the reservoir than we are aerating currently,” city engineering chief Rob Hillis told West Kelowna city councillors this week. “It’s over a third of the reservoir.”

Coun. Rick de Jong said: “It’s a huge improvement”.

Plans are for the new aeration system to be installed in the next few months, with another update to council on the overall $2.5 million improvement project in December.

The project has three components: installation of a potassium permanganate treatment system, intake improvements, and

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