The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) says there is still melting snowpack feeding into Chapman Lake, the water source for most SCRD customers. By this time a year ago, the snowpack was completely gone.
The water supply update was one of several water or watershed-related items on tap for the May 5 infrastructure services committee meeting. The committee also heard about progress on the Chapman Lake access expansion project, and a study on agricultural water use.
In his report on the water supply at Chapman Lake, GM of infrastructure services Bryan Shoji said that after last year’s severe drought, the SCRD is once again doing its own measurements of snowpack at Chapman Lake and Edwards Lake, instead of relying only on the province’s River Forecast Centre.
The last measurement, on April 4, showed 2.91 metres of snow at Chapman Lake. Shoji told the committee that as of the May 5 meeting it was around one metre, which is a typical beginning to the year.
“That’s not to say that if we have a dry July, August and September we won’t be faced with some challenges,” Shoji added. He said that’s one of the reasons his department is still working to have the Chapman access expansion project completed before the summer.
“The weather projections are for a drier and warmer summer,” he said. “We’re monitoring things closely, but we are getting off to a much better start than last year.”
Rainfall is the main resupply mechanism for the lake. The SCRD has said in the past it only takes about five days of steady rain to bring the lake up to a healthy level.
Halfmoon Bay director and SCRD chair Gary Nohr questioned Shoji about a different plan to draw more water from Chapman Lake if needed – a siphon system. Shoji said the provincial approvals are in place to use it as a backup, but the priority is to dig a deeper outlet channel (the province has yet to issue the approvals for that project).
The report on the access expansion project said the SCRD is targeting mid-June to wrap up the Alternative Approval Process (AAP), to get voter support for borrowing up to $5 million over a 30-year term. That would mean an additional $22.92 in parcel tax for the first year, and an estimated total of $410.69 for the 30-year term.
If the AAP fails, SCRD staff are recommending a short term, five-year loan. That would mean $100.49 extra in the first year, and $465 for the full term.
A motion to set the wheels in motion for the AAP was passed (with a ratification vote expected at the May 12 SCRD board meeting), with a single vote against.
Elphinstone director Lorne Lewis remains steadfastly opposed to the project, which he calls an “environmental misadventure,” and said he was “pleased to have one more opportunity to vote against it.”
The committee also saw the results of a 2015 study (done before the drought hit) looking at water use for 20 agricultural properties with farm status that were hooked up to the part of the SCRD water system supplied by Chapman Lake. The properties were chosen to give a good cross-section of crops and location. They included land in the District of Sechelt and Areas D, E and F.
Area A director Frank Mauro supported the idea of working with growers. “The information in the report is somewhat disturbing, in that 85 per cent of the people don’t know how much water they’re using and when they do measure it there is considerably more water used than they were aware of,” Mauro said. “I think our main role here is advocacy and assisting with education.”
Some agricultural users protested when they were included after the SCRD called Stage 4 watering restrictions last summer.
Although small and medium-scale agriculture is expanding on the Sunshine Coast, Lewis pointed out that when the SCRD first created its own water system it was built for residential use, and not with agricultural irrigation in mind.
The SCRD went to Stage 1 watering restrictions on May 1, which happens automatically regardless of the supply situation.
