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September 3, 2010 Peachland, BC
Volume 06 | Number 35
Kelowna-Westside
An independent member broker
Photo Joanne Layh
A water main break caused a small mudslide to land at #39 Antlers Beach Estates.
Antlers Beach Estates water main break causes mudslide By Joanne Layh For residents at Antlers Beach Estates, the main water pipe in their system could not have chosen a more unfortunate time to break. Only two months before the park was scheduled to be switched over to servicing from the district, the system failed, causing an outpour of water that lead to a mudslide. “It [the water main] had to last two more months and it would have been fi ne. We would have decommissioned it and done away with it. It just couldn’t last that long,” Antlers Beach Estates manager Barry Beggs
told the View. The problems started early Monday morning when residents noticed something was wrong and called Beggs to report that water was leaking. At the time, Beggs was in Penticton taking a water sample in for testing. However, someone in the area figured out what was happening and rushed to shut off the main valve above while Beggs’ wife shut off the pumps down below. Meanwhile, 5,000 gallons of water was released, which set loose a flood of water and mud down the mountain and onto #39 in the estates. The water in the park
is pumped down below in their pump house, and then is fed up through the main water pipe to a storage tank. It is then force fed down to all the mobile homes in the park. It was the line going up to the storage shed that broke, Beggs said. “15,000 gallons that are up above started to come down and washed all this down here. But people were able to get it shut off and we only lost about 5,000 gallons worth of water,” Beggs said, “We don’t know what the damage is underneath [the home]. We won’t know until all of this is taken away but
we were very lucky to be able to shut the water off because if we had lost 15,000 gallons this [home] would have gone and there are three residences down below that would be sitting out on the highway right now,” Beggs said. Luckily, the damage didn’t reach Highway 97 but it does raise concerns about how a simple thing as a water pipe breaking could easily shut down transportation through the valley. The water pipe break left everyone at Antlers Beach Estates without water until it could be restored late Monday night. For residents of
#39, their problems are a long way from being over. The mudslide occurred directly above their home leaving a hill of dirt along the north and east sides of their home. Wendy Slasynski lives at #39 with her father, Gordon Welsh. The incident was a big shock for Walsh, who was just recently released from hospital after major surgery and still remains in a fragile state. Slasynski and her father can’t say yet whether the home sustained any damage from the slide. “We won’t know until they get rid of the mud and the concrete,” Sla-
synski said, “and once that’s gone, it [the home] could move.” However, Slasynski is hopeful that things will get sorted out. “The park has been talking to their insurance people and I’ve been talking to mine,” she said, “I’m hoping because it was a water main break and the water belongs to the park, I might have something going on [insurancewise].” Meanwhile, Slsynski’s garden is buried along with her rubbish bin. “I have a hill of sand, rock and gravel…it’s going to be a challenge to move it at any rate,” she said.
Peachland Johnston Meier Agencies We will be CLOSED on Saturday, September 4th for “put the office back into shape day” We are doing a BIG renovation with new flooring, paint and furniture!
5878C Beach Avenue, Peachland, BC 1-877-767-2510 767-2500