Sechelt could dump about 47,000 cubic metres of sand or gravel or a mix of both on Davis Bay beach to combat flooding in the area – but the flood control option comes with a price tag of around $3 million and some unanswered environmental questions.
Sechelt council wasn’t keen on shelling out the funds for the proposed mitigation option when it was presented by members of SNC Lavalin Inc. during a May 18 regular council meeting.
“I’m very concerned about the potential for this,” Mayor Bruce Milne said.
“The capital cost is still something in our current situation which is going to be … daunting is a good word for it.”
He said the report would go to council’s upcoming strategic planning session for more discussion and noted it would take a while for the community to digest the idea.
While the introduction of sand and/or gravel on Davis Bay beach would raise the beach up high enough to help stop water from reaching the roadway in storm events during high tides, some of the material would wash away over time.
The SNC Lavalin report estimated that material would have to be topped up every five to 10 years. While the report took into account the movement of material and grade of the beach, it didn’t focus on the environmental aspects of pouring sand or gravel in the area.
“This community will be very concerned about the environmental impact,” Milne told presenters of the plan.
When the meeting was opened for questions from the public, Diane Sanford, with the Sunshine Coast Friends of Forage Fish group, said she had studied the area and had cause for concern.
“That area is positive for surf smelt and sand lance embryos and that is definitely critical habitat. As we know, those are the base of our food chain,” Sanford said, asking that her group be included in consultation around flood control options for Davis Bay beach going forward.
Milne said the report was “very preliminary,” and noted council “will be looking for a lot of community input to sort of think this one through.”
Jason Hertz of the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association said his group would also want to be involved in discussions in the future.
“We would have a lot of concerns about it moving forward, that there would have to be a lot of process to ensure the environmental values are not lost,” Hertz said.
See the full 60-page report from SNC Lavalin Inc. in the May 18 regular Sechelt council agenda found at www.sechelt.ca under Agendas and Minutes.
