The value of the Salt Spring Island Watershed Protection Alliance (SSIWPA) has been a nagging question almost since it was formed in 2014.
The rationale for its creation, according to then Salt Spring trustee and main proponent George Grams, was: “beginning with St. Mary Lake . . . to manage our watersheds, including those on associated islands, in a manner that seeks to ensure the provision of clean source water to all islanders.”
It was a lofty goal and one that would soon be even further away from earth when the limits of SSIWPA’s legislated authority became apparent: It was to “coordinate” activities of other agencies with either more authority or manpower, but wasn’t allowed to “do” the activities itself. Questions about SSIWPA’s role have persisted inside and outside of the Trust for years, and resulted in a “situation analysis and options identification report” being produced last April. One thing it identified was the need to “develop a multi-agency, multi-year watershed protection plan for Salt Spring Island,” suggesting it be connected with the Islands Trust’s Freshwater Sustainability Strategy.
As detailed at last Thursday’s Salt Spring Local Trust Committee (LTC) meeting, that plan is almost complete. It’s an ideal time to relieve SSIWPA of its responsibilities.
Salt Spring has at least 20 on-island organizations dedicated to either provision of potable water to a particular set of residents or to watershed protection or a sincere interest in both. The provincial government also bears some responsibility through Island Health and various ministries. The Islands Trust also has a senior freshwater specialist, a position created in 2017, partly due to the SSIWPA experience.
Every well-intentioned activity has value. But whether all of those activities need to be funded by taxpayers in perpetuity is questionable.
The SSIWPA account has a $32,000 surplus from the previous fiscal year. That can be used to undertake whatever coordinating activities are needed to complete and distribute the strategic plan, and determine next steps.
The ultimate funding decision rests with Trust Council at its next quarterly meeting when the 2023-24 budget is finalized. We urge trustees from the other islands to free Salt Spring Islanders from the unnecessary tax burden posed by SSIWPA.