On Monday, March 31, staff at the North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) will open their doors and do something they haven’t done for more than a decade: accept applications for new connections.
Those hookups won’t be available everywhere within the island’s largest water district — requests will only be heard for those served by the Maxwell Lake part of the system — and there will be more paperwork than prospective water users might remember from back before the moratorium on new connections began in 2014.
But the district’s board approved its new policy Thursday, Jan. 30, clearing the way for what could be hundreds of new connection requests — up to, according to the revised policy, 50,000 cubic metres of water annually in total, which staff have noted is the equivalent of roughly 300 multi-unit dwellings’ use.
And, at least from the water district’s part of the process, new connections will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis, since NSSWD has no authority to approve or deny applications based on what kind of housing is being serviced.
“I wish from the bottom of my heart that we had some way of [specifying] ‘people who have cottages and illegal suites,’” said NSSWD trustee Sandra Ungerson, “of getting the connections that they need for those units, and getting assisted housing closer to the front of the line. But I understand, we’re legislatively tied. This is just me on my soapbox.”
Part of the new application policy also involves completion of a new water service connection application form, as well as submission of a detailed design of whatever proposed property changes would require the new connection –– two “great steps” for the district, according to chief administrative officer Mark Boysen, who said the detailed drawing component in particular was something NSSWD staff and those at the Capital Regional District (CRD) building permit department had been discussing at length.
“What we approve has to be the same thing that the CRD approves,” said Boysen. “And that goes for the Islands Trust approval as well.”
NSSWD’s infrastructure comprises two separate water systems, which get supply from two lakes — Maxwell and St. Mary — serving what the district said is some 1,850 water connections and approximately 5,500 users. After an extensive new supply reliability assessment, consultants and district staff concluded last year the modelling supported adding more connections on the Maxwell Lake side.
Despite the upcoming weir-raising on St. Mary Lake at Duck Creek — a $10-million project being funded by the province — the same modelling also indicated that the northern section of NSSWD’s system will be hard-pressed to support its existing connection commitments with high reliability every year.
Notably, while the moratorium remaining in place for the St. Mary side of the water system explicitly notes that applications for secondary structures on properties already served by the district would be denied, no such restrictions exist within the new policy for the potential new connections on the Maxwell side.
“Except for land use,” said financial officer Tammy Lannan, referring to authority held by the Islands Trust. “Land use would restrict the applicant from getting water for something they technically can’t build. But if they’re allowed a secondary suite, we have no limitations –– besides the 300 connections or 50,000 cubic metres.”
For context on that 50,000 cubic metres, board chair Brian Pyper looked back to compare the potential future water use to what took place in the days before water restrictions, or even rate structures.
In recent years, Pyper said, the Maxwell Lake side of the system has delivered roughly 220,000 cubic metres to customers annually.
“Back in a period of 2010-2013, when we had water leaking out of the Shepherd Hill tanks at a considerable rate,” chuckled Pyper, “we were at an average usage of over 330,000 cubic metres. What I’m trying to place into context here is this additional capacity that we’re adding to our current capacity is still substantially lower than what Maxwell Lake was quite easily supporting.”
Trustees had discussed having a two-year limit on new connections, instead opting for a system of constant review — a quarterly connections reporting process, for the board to regularly assess the status of the system’s capacity — and explicitly naming that 50,000 cubic metres as a hard cap.
“We are trying to be cautious and responsible in this partial moratorium lift,” said Pyper. “It’s an important moment for us; it’s taken a lot of time and, I think, good work to get here.”
A number of system improvement projects — including the completion of the new Maxwell Lake treatment plant and a shared-water-supply connection joining it with the St. Mary side — could have potential benefits for improved supply across the district, according to a public release; those improvements are scheduled for completion by 2027.
For more information on the moratorium review and upcoming projects, visit northsaltspringwaterworks.ca.
