Wine and fruit waste prompts Kelowna treatment facility upgrade

KELOWNA – The city is looking at upgrading the Brandt’s Creek Trade Waste Treatment facility in a bid to reduce the amount of biosolids it produces and the cost of hauling them away.

Staff are recommending the city pay $450,000 for a centrifuge to be installed at the facility located in the North End industrial area.

That money will be recouped by the city, which owns and operates the facility on behalf of Sun-Rype Products and wine-maker Andrew Peller Ltd. The facility handles all the fruit and wine waste generated by the two companies.

Sun-Rype has already paid $274,000 for the centrifuge and is expecting to pay another $176,000 to install it and other auxillary equipment.

Utility services manager Kevin Van Vliet, in a report to council, notes the centrifuge purchase is outside the 2015 capital financial plan but the money can be recovered from Sun-Rype and Andrew Peller.

He recommends taking the $450,000 from the waste water utiltity reserve, which will be repaid by the two companies by the end of 2015.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.