Victor Cumming, October 5th
When first elected Mayor of Vernon in 2018, a reporter quickly asked what would keep me up at night, and I promptly replied: “a catastrophic wildfire on the Aberdeen Plateau where 60% of our water comes from.” A catastrophic fire in this area, with a current fire rating of high and extreme, would remove all the foliage and turn the soil to ash and dust. The result would be run-off into our reservoirs that could not be filtered, as Greater Water has no filter on this water source without a new $85 million filtration plant. If GVW had the money, which it does not, it would still take years to build. The reservoirs would quickly fill with silt, losing our storage capacity.
For the next 5 years, I spoke to every Provincial Minister I could and built a collaborative relationship with the District of Lake Country (another user) and Okanagan Indian Band. Finally, in a chance meeting with the Premier in the fall of 2023, I explained the wildfire risk to our water source. He understood it immediately and within a few months a $15 million commitment was made. The wildfire risk reduction is now underway.North Aberdeen Plateau Wildfire and Watershed Resilience Initiative received the President’s Committee Choice Award at the Union of BC Municipalities Community Excellence Awards ceremony September 15, 2026, in Vancouver.
