There, domestic water is derived for the most part from private wells. A reservoir is used to provide pressure equalisation and water supply during brief power failures and reserve water supply for fire protection. Typically there is no chlorine disinfection provided on these wells, although there is some minor chlorination at one of the wells to deal with manganese bacteria accumulation an aesthetic, rather than a human, health concern. The four wells operate in sequence, so at different times of the year the water arriving at any particular home may be from different wells and contain varying degrees of hardness levels that affect its taste. About 20 kilometres of the canal north of Road 18 still remains in service today.
Rural wells operate only in winter.
Funded under the Canada-BC Infrastructure program, the project placed a portion of the canal underground, repaired or replaced nearly four kilometres of remaining canal, upgraded several control structures and automated much of the canal s daily operations. Further upgrades and replacements are in the works. Oliver does not have a water treatment plant, but the four rural wells are chlorinated and stringent testing is carried out nonetheless. Szalay says each of the town s four urban wells and four rural water wells are tested on a weekly basis for bacterial contamination. Water samples are submitted to provincial Ministry of Health officials who send them off to a recognized accredited laboratory in Kelowna for fecal coliform and total coliform testing.