Murky jurisdictional authority over drainage has resurfaced in a recent mudslide that flooded a dirt road and residents' driveways in Langdale.
Mud and trees slid downhill from a residential property on Smith Road, across the road and onto the private driveway across the road Nov. 6 after heavy rainfall. Lee Turnbull, Sunshine Coast Regional District director for Area F (West Howe Sound), worries next time it could be a house coming down the hill.
"If that part of the hill is sliding, what's next? There's a house up there," Turnbull said in a phone interview. When she visited the site earlier this week, the pile of dirt and trees on the road had been pushed aside to open access for vehicles to get through.
The neighbour next to the flooded driveway faced a jurisdictional struggle when he tried to report the mess.
"He was really frustrated because he phoned the SCRD expecting them to help and it isn't really their jurisdiction," Turnbull said. The B.C. Ministry of Transportation is responsible for some roads but since Smith Road likely is not up to ministry standards, Turnbull doubts this particular road falls under its jurisdiction. While the SCRD is responsible for planning bylaws and zoning, it is not responsible for roads and drainage, she explained.
"It's that fractured jurisdiction that's the problem," Turnbull noted.
A phone call to the ministry's area manager was not returned by Coast Reporter's deadlines. The neighbour was eventually referred to the SCRD's provincial emergency program co-ordinator, who then got the ball rolling to respond.
But responsibility for causing the landslide and paying for the cleanup is still up in the air.
The SCRD and ministry jointly hired a consulting company Delcan to undertake a storm water assessment, which released its findings earlier this fall. But funding and jurisdiction proved to be key issues in implementing change.
"That's what the SCRD is trying to figure out is who should take responsibility for these problems," Turnbull said. "When you cut the trees down, the water just rushes off. So how do we keep the water up there where it belongs, in a better way than we're doing?"
The Smith Road situation is not unique in Area F or the rest of the regional district.
"It's an event that fits into a pattern," she said. "There are many examples like this and so many problems and the SCRD doesn't have a function which covers this drainage and road problem because it's not supposed to be doing the roads - the MOT does the roads. This landslide is another example."
She believes the answer lies in incorporating into a new municipality, which could take on the jurisdiction for drainage.As a result of the Delcan report, the SCRD is looking into whether it should develop drainage policies or look to have joint jurisdiction with the ministry.
"That's the question the SCRD board has to face now that we have that Delcan report. What is it that we do now, because people are obviously needing help."
