Editor:
Geoff Bedford and I recently appeared as a delegation to the SCRD to provide four low-cost practical solutions to solving our ongoing water supply crisis.
1. Accelerate the completion of the Church Road wells.
2. Spend $50,000 on a technology solution we identified that locates water leaks in our existing water mains, and then repair such leaks. Such leaks could be causing us to lose a huge amount of treated water.
3. Re-examine the Dusty Road well option. For some reason that has not been adequately explained, the test drilling done last year stopped at 250 feet rather than completing it to the planned depth of 500 feet. As East Porpoise Bay has a prolific aquifer and is on the doorstep of the existing water treatment plant, fully assessing this option is vital as it is close to the water treatment plant, which would reduce costs.
4. It makes no sense to spend more money on studying the raw water reservoir project, which at $50 million or more is simply unaffordable. Let us focus our money on developing strategically positioned groundwater wells to get us the much-needed new sources of water, which has the benefit of reducing our dependence on the Chapman Creek system. Also, such groundwater sources will enable us to leave water behind the Chapman Creek dam until we need it in the late summer.
We must not lose sight of the fact that only new sources of water supply will get us over this water crisis that has been sapping our attention and energy for more than 15 years. Water meters do not add any new supply.
We ask the SCRD to focus on solutions that are affordable and can be implemented quickly. Groundwater solutions are our only practical option.
Karl Glackmeyer, P.Eng. (Retired), Sechelt
