SCRD updates Area A water plan

The updated Area A water master plan (AAWMP) projects an overall cost of between $8 and $10 million for programs and projects designed to provide a long-term, cost-effective supply of drinking water to the region.

Utility services manager Dave Crosby reported to directors of the Sunshine Coast Regional District on Nov. 3 that a presentation of the update to the public in October was "well received by the attendees."

Public focus tended to centre on the South Pender treatment plant after water quality concerns in the area rose during the summer of 2009.

The plant is scheduled for a 2012 construction date and comes at an estimated cost of $4 million. The sum is slated to be covered by a Building Canada Fund grant.

At this time, the construction of a water main extension to Middlepoint is not expected. The cost of such an endeavour has been estimated to be in the neighbourhood of $2.4 million.

For north Pender Harbour, the chosen option will be ultraviolet treatment at a construction cost of $300,000. This project is also scheduled to begin in 2012.

With regards to ensuring a steady supply of water, the current objective is to explore different supply sources and look at the feasibility of transfers between different watersheds like Klein, Ruby and Sakinaw.

Throughout the meeting, directors from the rural areas often targeted the issue of equity in the delivery of services across the Coast.

Autonomous regions might struggle to cover the cost of improvements, while those getting service from the SCRD could find their dollars contributing to development in other areas.

Area A director Eric Graham was particularly concerned about older systems that might be failing and the prospect that grant funding might not be available when the time comes.

"What option have we got except for the small system to ask the regional water to take over and get them back on their feet," he asked, adding that should water quality become a larger concern in some areas, Vancouver Coastal Health could create pressure on the SCRD to take over the ailing systems.

The first thing the SCRD does when it incorporates an existing system into its infrastructure is ensure that equipment meets regional standards, said Brian Shoji, the SCRD's general manager of infrastructure services.

He went on to say that bringing systems into the regional district's services can sometimes produce a liability rather than an asset, that "people who petition in would generally have to pay to bring that system up to our standard."

Ultimately it remains a decision of the board whether or not to cover that cost, he added.

Another challenge predicted by staff is tax-based funding and the effect the current global economic situation could have on raising capital.

But there is also a bright side to that reality - interest rates are at an all-time low, making financing easier and recent bids for construction contracts have also shown a decline.

"This appears to be an excellent time to undertake major construction," the report ventures.

The updated plan is available on the SCRD's website at www.scrd.ca.