Water gushes from the ground around Marni Murray’s home after a pressure valve failure on June 22, 2022. Two West Kelowna city council candidates are championing the cause of a group of Glenrossa residents whose homes were damaged after one of the city’s underground pressure valves failed in June. Both John S. Martin and Tasha Da Silva spoke with some of the property owners who want the city to offer compensation for the damage. On June 22, city crews responded to an underground pressure valve failure affecting a section of Glenrosa. Several residents near McIver, McBain and McTaggert roads reported flooding inside and outside their homes. They argued the city should pay for the damages and repairs because it was a municipal pressure valve that failed. However, the city’s insurer, the Municipal Insurance Association of British Columbia, recently denied 14 homeowners’ claims for compensation. “On September 1, the city was notified of the third party examiner’s decision to deny the claims of 14 property owners because those homes were not equipped with the proper pressure relief valve,” said Paul Gipps, CAO, City of West Kelowna in a statement to Castanet. “This equipment, required by the BC Building Code, helps protect homes from sudden infrastructure failures outside of the city’s control. The City of West Kelowna is a member of the Municipal Insurance Association of British Columbia, which adjudicates claims for municipalities in BC as an independent third party.” Martin thinks this is not good enough. At least two of the property owners say no one from MIA contacted them to get their side of the story. “Automatically rejecting claims through their insurance agency without proper investigation is not appropriate when you come to a city that is engaged in the community,” Martin said. He moved to West Kelowna four years ago from Toronto, where he was a fire captain for 30 years. He says councilors are accountable to the public and while only a small section of the public was affected, councilors have a responsibility to at least consult with them. Tasha Da Silva is also running for city council for the first time. She is the current president of the Glenrosa Resident Association. Da Silva spoke briefly to Paul Gipps after the allegations were dismissed and has booked a follow-up meeting for later this month. “At that meeting, I will certainly be able to advocate that the city go back to the insurer and reevaluate the decision,” he said. Da Silva says what happened is a wake-up call for others in the community to check that their homes have the most up-to-date pressure relief valves. “Meanwhile, I’m trying to get as much information on the pressure relief valves themselves. “Are people moving into Glenrosa and doing home inspections and it’s not getting caught? How many other houses are affected by this?’ Martin adds that most homeowners aren’t familiar with the details of building code updates, and even if they were, they’re unlikely to be able to afford to add the latest equipment each time the code is revised. CAO Gipp told Castanet that he has not yet decided whether the matter will be brought to the council’s attention. “We have to be very careful. Because if we do something, every day something happens in the city with a rock coming off a lawnmower or a lawnmower, or someone hitting a pothole and getting a flat tire. So we want to be consistent with every other city and how they operate theirs, so we’re consistent.” Photo: Dan Goy Dan Goy’s basement flooded when the pressure valve failed.
