It’s a question asked from time to time by newcomers and long-time islanders alike: why doesn’t the North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) get folded into a Capital Regional District (CRD) service?
It seems we might have at least a partial answer now. According to results of a survey, current and former commissioners say they don’t think it’d work out.
NSSWD commissioned a survey late last fall, reaching out to more than 50 people who have served, or serve today, as a CRD water commissioner on Salt Spring Island. The objective was to “explore” how they felt about the process of conversion from an independent water authority to a CRD one — something that has happened on Salt Spring, but never on the scale a switch would represent for NSSWD.
A total of 27 responded and took the survey; among them, half were current commissioners and half former.
At first blush, the results might raise more than a few eyebrows.
Half of the respondents thought conversion wasn’t beneficial, two-thirds said they didn’t think the CRD had the best interests of ratepayers in mind, four in five “do not trust CRD promises” and fewer than one in 20 “trust the CRD.”
One might be tempted to dismiss the survey findings by questioning how those opinions broke down between current and former commission members — were the negative attitudes mostly among those currently serving, or mostly those with memories of days done by? — but that information could at best round the sharp corners of the prickliest responses. And it would risk missing the point.
While even the most casual student of Salt Spring Island history could excuse a certain amount of skepticism for decision-making from the other side of the water, there’s a gap in confidence here that needs addressing — and an opportunity for the CRD.
The regional district should take the negative feedback seriously, take a hard look at the conversion process, and start mending a few fences. It’s in all our best interests to ensure responsible — and responsive — management of the island’s most precious resource.