Work to prevent further landslides threatening water intakes for the Chapman Creek water treatment plant is expected to be completed by Friday, Feb. 19, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) says.
A landslide above the creek in late December prompted an emergency meeting of the SCRD board of directors on Dec. 31 when it approved up to $200,000 for work to protect the water intakes.
Repair and prevention work began in mid-January and since then, SCRD staff and contractors “have been placing anchors and two beams in the area,” the regional district said in a news release.
“The work has involved the installation of 10 anchors into solid bedrock. The immediate threat has been greatly reduced,” SCRD general manager of infrastructure services Remko Rosenboom told Coast Reporter.
Water drawn through the intakes in Chapman Creek is piped to most properties on the Sunshine Coast in a watermain network that runs from West Howe Sound to Secret Cove.
Rosenboom added that “no additional work is scheduled” on the hillside above the creek, and that as of Feb. 12, the project was still “tracking within the allocated budget.”
The SCRD closed a hiking trail in the area just before work began and has given no indication when it might reopen. “Due to the complex nature of the excavation work now being completed and the heavy machinery that is in the area, the trail and access areas … continue to be closed to the public for safety reasons,” the release said.
