Folks who live in the Black Pines area just north of Kamloops are finally able to drink directly from their taps.

A boil water notice and water quality advisory for the over 40 properties who use the Black Pines water system has now been lifted.

Colton Davies with the Thompson Nicola Regional District says it’s due to testing of a new 1.5-million dollar groundwater well system finally being completed.

He says a sandbar which began developing shortly after the Black Pines water system was first launched in 1975 eventually forced their hand.

“In the last 10 to 15 years, that sandbar has grown substantially, and a big reason for this groundwater well and to do away with the river intake,” noted Davies.  “There was also a water quality advisory for manganese in the system. A little bit of manganese — as an essential mineral — is healthy, but too much can be a risk for infants or seniors.”

The growth of a sandbar near the intake for the previous water system in Black Pines meant locals had been living under water quality advisories since 2016.

Davies says the new groundwater system is being partially funded through grant money, as well as a loan authorized in a 2021 referendum.

“Essentially 70 percent of that is grant-covered. There’s a federal-provincial grant that was received in 2015,” said Davies.  “And also later in 2015, the TNRD received a commitment of $150,000 from Trans Mountain to go towards the project as well.”