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Chapman water supply could be in jeopardy if landslide worsens

SCRD approves $200K fix at emergency New Year’s Eve board meeting
landslide
A Dec 19 landslide near the Chapman intake has placed two key water supply mains at potential risk.

A recent landslide near the Chapman water treatment plant poses a continued risk to the water system, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) board heard Thursday.
Directors met for an emergency board meeting to authorize spending up to $200,000 to enforce two water supply mains located between the plant and the intake at Chapman Creek.
The watermains are vulnerable due to a landslide that occurred in the area on Dec. 19. Although staff identified no damage or immediate risk to the watermains, geotechnical assessments “concluded that the landslide area is very unstable and there is a substantial risk of further erosion or landslides” at the site, a staff report said.
“It’s likely that any additional landslide or significant erosion of the area would put the watermains at risk of breaking,” said the report.
The two supply mains provide untreated water to the treatment plant and “are critical to the water supply of the Chapman Water System.”
Asked at Thursday’s board meeting about a backup plan, SCRD general manager of infrastructure services Remko Rosenboom said if one of the watermains is impacted the other one could still provide water to the treatment plant.
“Of course we still have a significant amount of water in our reservoirs to supply the community and we’ve prepared Gray Creek as well as Chaster Well and Elphinstone to be put on line,” Rosenboom said.
But, he added, “that would not be sufficient to provide the entire community with water. It would provide some water to the community, but not entirely.”
As a result, he said, the SCRD is in contact with Vancouver Coastal Health, Sechelt Hospital, Emergency Management BC and other provincial agencies “to be prepared ... if a worst-case scenario became a reality.”
Fire departments on the Coast have been informed of the situation and have backup plans that could be activated, he said.
Work to enforce the two watermains with metal beam is expected to begin next week, though it could take up to a week for some materials to be delivered.
SCRD operations staff have been on high alert since last week and have implemented some remedial measures. They continue to monitor the site closely.
The SCRD will fund the work in the short term and staff will explore “every means of cost recovery through Emergency Management BC.”
Further assessment and more comprehensive site improvements will be carried out a later date.