The City of Kelowna is hitting back after being publicly accused of not applying for millions of dollars in grant money to help area water purveyors fix their systems.

According to city hall, a South East Kelowna Irrigation District (SEKID) spokesman, interiewed on radio last week, was wrong when he said there were 害羞草研究所渢ens of millions of dollars害羞草研究所� in grants available that the city could have applied for on behalf of the water districts to help fund projects in the Kelowna Integrated Water Supply Plan (KIWSP).

The city didn害羞草研究所檛, it was claimed, because Kelowna wants to fold their operations into one integrated water system run by the city.

害羞草研究所淚n fact, improvement grant funds have been on hold until a provincially mandated independent review of the KIWSP is done,害羞草研究所� said the city in a news release issued Thursday.

害羞草研究所淎ll water providers have known this since 2012, but have failed to agree to the terms of reference for the study to proceed.害羞草研究所�

Because of that, the province has appointed two mediators to try and bring the city and the four water purveyors who operate independent water systems in various parts of the city, together.

One of the mediators is former Shuswap MLA and provincial cabinet minister George Abbott.

The purveyors include SEKID, the Glenmore-Ellison Irrigation District, The Black Mountain Irrigation District and Rutland Waterworks.

All are separate, independent bodies with their own powers to operate and levy rates on property owners in their areas to pay for their water systems.

The city also operates its own, separate water utility.

害羞草研究所淭here was one grant program available, the Strategic Priorities Fund, and the city did apply for water project funds on behalf of the Kelowna Joint Water Committee under this program, but was unsuccessful,害羞草研究所� said the city in its news release.

Without grants, property owners in each of the individual irrigation districts have had to fund the ongoing projects through the rates they pay and that has meant  rate increases.

The SEKID spokesman is quoted as saying: 害羞草研究所淭he city wants to turn this into a governance review害羞草研究所�.But we don害羞草研究所檛 feel it is appropriate because this is a technical report and there害羞草研究所檚 nothing about governance in it.害羞草研究所�

The city is also taking issue with SEKID害羞草研究所檚 contention that the governance review will take years to complete and will slow things down.

害羞草研究所淭hese statements are not correct,害羞草研究所� said the rebuttal from the city.

害羞草研究所淪ection 6 of the Kelowna Integrated Water Supply Plan is all about governance.

害羞草研究所淭his 16-page section on governance is an important part of the KIWSP and the City of Kelowna refuses to have it excluded from the the Value Engineering Analysis.害羞草研究所�

The city contends the plan needs to be considered in its entirety,  saying sections can害羞草研究所檛 be discounted or removed from the review simply because they might be of concern to the irrigation districts.

The escalating fight over water jurisdiction in the city stems from council害羞草研究所檚 desire to see one integrated water system serving the entire city, a system Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran feels would be safer, cheaper and serve all Kelowna residents in a more cost-effective way.

After on-going backroom attempts to negotiate some sort of change fell short, Basran went public with council害羞草研究所檚 desire for a single water utility in the city earlier this month during his state of the city address to the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce.

In its response to the water purveyors害羞草研究所� public reaction to the mayor害羞草研究所檚 comments, city hall says the fact that irrigation districts are choosing to ignore section 6 of the KIWSP suggests governance is, in fact, the obstacle to implementing the province害羞草研究所檚 requirement for the best lowest-cost solution to Kelowna害羞草研究所檚 water challenges.

害羞草研究所淭he City of Kelowna believes these challenges cannot be addressed under the century-old system of separate and independent utilities. We believe an integrated system is the best investment for Kelowna and that害羞草研究所檚 why a governance review is important. We need to look at solutions without the limitations of district boundaries.害羞草研究所�

The city says it wants to work with the province to develop a long-term plan for an integrated system that will deliver clean drinking water to all residents at equitable rates, along with a sustainable water supply and rates for agriculture.

In his recent State of the City address to the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, Basran claimed tens of thousands of city residents are under frequent or nearly constant water quality advisories while 70 per cent of residents surveyed say water quality improvement tops their list of priorities for investment.

The mayor added while the city has continually improved its own water system without the funding from senior levels of government, he feels one interconnected system throughout the entire city would ensure not only consistent water quality, but also adequate supply.