Directors widely supported a motion for the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) to call an “immediate water emergency,” but stopped short of endorsing a ban on new water connections.
Elphinstone director Donna McMahon made the motion at an infrastructure committee meeting on April 18.
It was prompted in part because snowpack levels in the Chapman system remain below average, and because there isn’t enough water in the Chapman system to get through a summer drought without restrictions beyond Stage 2.
McMahon also suggested a water summit of community stakeholders be organized to address long-term supply and that a drought management task force be convened to deal with short-term drought, with “major water users” invited to assist with conservation measures to avoid Stage 4 outdoor water use restrictions.
“We need to have this conversation about water and we need to have this conversation in public, which is why I made this motion,” said McMahon, adding, “The public feels we have not been treating our water supply situation with the seriousness and urgency that it deserves.”
Directors supported the bulk of the motion, but opposed one of the recommendations – that the SCRD “stop approving new water connections until such time as we can provide a sufficient water supply year round.”
Infrastructure general manager Remko Rosenboom recommended dropping the prohibition on connections because of potential legal ramifications.
Sechelt director Darnelda Siegers said she was of “two minds,” suggesting that limiting connections could also limit developments the Coast needs, such as a long-term care facility. “I think we need to be more discerning instead of just saying no to all development,” she said.
Chair Lori Pratt, Area A director Leonard Lee and Sechelt director Tom Lamb also expressed reservations.
Gibsons director Bill Beamish said he would prefer to see shíshálh Nation at the table before a prohibition on new water connections. Shíshálh Nation director Keith Julius was not present at the meeting.
Ultimately, directors agreed to nix the ban on new water connections from the declaration. At a December planning committee meeting, directors voted for staff to report on the options for development and growth management in a water shortage. That report is forthcoming.
West Howe Sound director Mark Hiltz expressed concern with the word “emergency,” since it suggests “we’re losing control of the situation.” He also asked about liability issues, since it’s an SCRD service – something Rosenboom said would be considered before the motion is brought back to another committee meeting to be finalized.
McMahon told directors, “If we use the word crisis instead that might work too, but emergency was a lot more dramatic, so let’s get it out there,” and clarified that the motion “was intended largely as rhetoric.”
Staff are expected to report back at a future committee meeting with suggested wording as well as the regulatory implication of such a declaration.
The Coast Reporter editorial board interviewed Pratt this week about the SCRD’s approach to the water shortage. Listen to the Coast Reporter Radio podcast episode at www.coastreporter.net/audio
