It’s not easy to whip up enthusiasm for something as practical as a water treatment plant, but we’re going to try one last time.
Briefly, organic matter in lake water reacts with chlorine treatment to create trihalomethanes (THMs) like chloroform and bromodichloromethane; these byproducts of disinfection have been linked to some forms of cancer, so health officials are requiring water providers take steps to remove more organics prior to treatment.
The Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) plant planned by the North Salt Spring Waterworks District at Maxwell Lake will do just that — professional engineers have worked through the design and the district’s board and staff have spent countless hours ensuring it will meet their long-term needs.
And importantly, Island Health has mandated the plant be built; the new facility is coming eventually, regardless of how the May 8 referendum vote turns out, and district ratepayers will pay the bill.
The voting is the final step in this multi-year journey, required to authorize any significant district borrowing. For anyone contemplating marking “no” at this point, consider a referendum failure will likely delay the start of construction, lengthen the time we spend drinking elevated-THM water, and — unless anyone predicts materials and labour prices will shrink in coming years — raise ratepayer costs.
To their credit, NSSWD officials have been easing us into this for a few years now; every property owner in the district has already paid an increased parcel tax in anticipation of servicing this incoming loan. And yes, in a “worst case” scenario there could be one last such increase in 2026.
But as ratepayers vote to authorize a maximum borrowing amount, the district has demonstrated they have efforts underway to secure funding to help avoid that increase.
As a “bonus,” treating Maxwell Lake the same as St. Mary Lake — where a DAF plant is already operating — offers an opportunity to combine the two “sides” of the system and increase water supply resiliency to drought and flood events.
For these reasons, we support voting “yes” on the NSSWD ratepayer referendum, either by mail-in ballot until 4:30 p.m. on May 6, or in person at Community Gospel Chapel from 2 to 6 p.m. on May 8.