SCRD directors finally agreed last week on how staff should approach the Chapman Lake drawdown issue — only to be told that Sechelt First Nation would be undertaking an investigation of its own.
“We want the information forwarded to us as soon as possible so we can start doing our work, because this is in our unceded territory and also the watershed,” Sechelt Nation director Chris August said at the Oct. 2 infrastructure services committee meeting.
At August’s request, directors also agreed to include the topic at next month’s joint watershed management committee meeting with Sechelt Indian Band (SIB) council.
“SIB hasn’t been informed of these drawdown plans yet, so we’re still waiting for the SCRD to make application,” he said. “In speaking to some of my councillors, they’re very concerned.”
The committee, meanwhile, expanded the resolution that had been deferred at a board meeting last month, asking staff to address concerns presented by environmentalists in a consultants’ report that will compare options to further draw down Chapman Lake.
The new motion also directed staff to spell out the consequences of not proceeding with an increased drawdown scenario, to detail the research needed to assess the environmental impact of increased drawdown, and to explore options such as an emergency backup well.
Bryan Shoji, general manager of infrastructure services, said the comprehensive regional water plan identifies a floating pump station or alternative design for drawing down lake levels, as a temporary measure in case of operational failure or severe drought. The long-term solution, he said, is to build an engineered lake.
“The risk of not staying with the plan is we won’t have a backup. Our goal is to never have to turn those pumps on,” Shoji said, adding that any proposal would have to go through an environmental review process.
“A temporary emergency backup supply is always a good thing to have,” Egmont/Pender Harbour director Frank Mauro said. “I would rather put money toward a more permanent backup supply that turned out to be feasible, like a well.”
The report will be presented to the newly elected board early next year.
At Roberts Creek director Donna Shugar’s suggestion, the report will also address the option of amending official community plans “in order to keep growth within the confines of our water capacity.”
