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SCRD Water Strategy

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Thank you for participating! Engagement on the development of the Water Strategy ended on June 30, 2022. Staff are reviewing all feedback received and will draft an engagement summary report for public review. Throughout Fall, staff will draft the Water Strategy based on your feedback. The draft Water Strategy will be shared with the public in early 2024.



The Project

The SCRD provides drinking water to more than 24,000 people in the region. Residents, businesses, schools, and hospitals rely on the SCRD water systems to meet their daily water needs.

The SCRD is developing a Water Strategy, a long-term strategic plan that sets the direction and priorities for drinking water projects and initiatives in our communities. The Water Strategy will look ahead to plan the future of water supply for our communities, taking into consideration factors such as climate change, population growth, and potential emergencies. While the SCRD is making progress to increase water supply and storage in the short term, the SCRD’s Water Strategy will be proactive to meet the community’s needs in the coming decades.

A Discussion Paper is now available that introduces the proposed strategy framework and how it will be developed.

Engagement Opportunities - Closed

The SCRD is seeking feedback on the development of the Water Strategy from May 9 to June 30, 2022. Engagement activities are planned throughout the engagement period, including an Open House on Wednesday, May 25 at 3-6pm at the Seaside Centre, Sechelt, and small group roundtable discussions in all water systems. If you were unable to attend this event, you can view the display boards here.

The SCRD will use the feedback received to draft an SCRD Water Strategy, a 10-page public-facing document that explains how the SCRD plans to provide a safe and reliable water supply in the long term. The draft Water Strategy will be shared with the public by early 2023 for feedback.


Click the squares below to learn more:



Thank you for participating! Engagement on the development of the Water Strategy ended on June 30, 2022. Staff are reviewing all feedback received and will draft an engagement summary report for public review. Throughout Fall, staff will draft the Water Strategy based on your feedback. The draft Water Strategy will be shared with the public in early 2024.



The Project

The SCRD provides drinking water to more than 24,000 people in the region. Residents, businesses, schools, and hospitals rely on the SCRD water systems to meet their daily water needs.

The SCRD is developing a Water Strategy, a long-term strategic plan that sets the direction and priorities for drinking water projects and initiatives in our communities. The Water Strategy will look ahead to plan the future of water supply for our communities, taking into consideration factors such as climate change, population growth, and potential emergencies. While the SCRD is making progress to increase water supply and storage in the short term, the SCRD’s Water Strategy will be proactive to meet the community’s needs in the coming decades.

A Discussion Paper is now available that introduces the proposed strategy framework and how it will be developed.

Engagement Opportunities - Closed

The SCRD is seeking feedback on the development of the Water Strategy from May 9 to June 30, 2022. Engagement activities are planned throughout the engagement period, including an Open House on Wednesday, May 25 at 3-6pm at the Seaside Centre, Sechelt, and small group roundtable discussions in all water systems. If you were unable to attend this event, you can view the display boards here.

The SCRD will use the feedback received to draft an SCRD Water Strategy, a 10-page public-facing document that explains how the SCRD plans to provide a safe and reliable water supply in the long term. The draft Water Strategy will be shared with the public by early 2023 for feedback.


Click the squares below to learn more:



Have a question? Ask it here!

Please read the Frequently Asked Questions here. 

Still have a question? Ask it here and an SCRD staff member will get back to you.

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  • Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this link

    Hello...I heard there is a subsidy program for upgrading toilets to be more conservation-friendly. Is it still available, if it ever even existed?

    braphael asked 10 months ago

    From 2001 to 2017 the SCRD supported bathroom fixture replacements. More than 8,000 toilets, 2,500 shower heads and 3,800 aerators were installed as a result, saving millions of litres of water use a year. In 2011, the BC Building code was amended requiring all new toilets to be high efficiency models. In 2017 the SCRD’s toilet rebate program officially ended. The SCRD currently offers rebates for rainwater harvesting systems and you can find more information on those here www.scrd.ca/rainwater. Thank you for your interest!

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    Will the proposed raw water reservoir design planned for 4Q 2022 ensure that even with increased developments on the Coast ensure that we will not have to beyond Stage 1. And what is the criteria for this design,including population growth and water usage per household through the summer months. After the project for water storage design is compete let’s get on with it and bit the bullet for a large tax increase. Please be bold where others have failed in the SCRD over the last 15 years who failed to make an important decision to move forward with a storage facility rather than band solutions such as wells that increase the water by only 15 to 20% and still require stage 2 or 3 during the summer months.

    Don asked over 1 year ago

    Thanks for your feedback. Staff are working on updated cost estimates and the preliminary design. This work is delayed as the same staff have been working in the SCRD Emergency Operations Centre this fall through the ongoing drought. You can follow this project here https://www.scrd.ca/reservoir

    Staff use population growth data, water demand forecasts, climate projections and water system modelling for water supply planning. The proposed reservoir would provide just over 1,000,000m3 of water storage, and will be compared against other potential long-term source options, based on feasibility, cost and total volume of new water supply.

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    Why us SCRD so behind in securing and delivering a water supply? We live in a rain forest. There is plenty of water. Why has not SCRD secured sufficient storage and delivery to paying customers?

    Bob asked over 1 year ago

    Church Road Well Field will be completed by early next year and will increase water supply from Halfmoon Bay to Soames, adding up to 5 million litres of water per day in the summer. Langdale Well Field Expansion will add two production-sized wells to the existing water source. Pending a water licence from the Province, the new well field could be connected to the Chapman Water System by 2025. Gray Creek is an existing water source that can only be used during dry weather. The SCRD is determining if the existing Gray Creek Water Treatment Plant could be upgraded to be used more frequently, building more redundancy in the Chapman Water System by 2027.

     

    More work is underway on long-term source options, including a potential raw water reservoir. Learn more here https://letstalk.scrd.ca/water

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    Being as we are still experiencing Stage 4 water restrictions in December 2022, what would happen if our water shortage continues to worsen next year and the year after that ... What would happen if a new large development application comes forward like the ones we are already seeing in Sechelt, or worse yet, one that has already been approved and the SCRD is unable to provide the service/utility? Have you seen what has happened to Bowen Island over Snug Cove sewer hookups earlier this year in January 2022? So does it make sense for the SCRD to continue to approve the ability to service new developments and then continue to enact water use restrictions for existing households and taxpayers? Wouldn’t it be better both legally and morally to acknowledge we are unable to even provide water to existing residents and turn down new applications until we actually build these sustainable long-term solutions everyone keeps talking about? I hate to say it, but it only appears to be a matter of time ... Thanks, Warren

    Warren asked over 1 year ago

    A moratorium on development was discussed at the SCRD Board last year. The meeting was recorded and was covered in the local news: https://www.coastreporter.net/local-news/scrd-rejects-moratorium-on-new-development-4237057

    The SCRD needs to increase water supply. Staff continue to use climate projections and growth forecasts, where we use 2% populations growth, a big higher than 2021 census data. In 2018, SCRD used a 6-month drought (dry spring and dry fall) to forecast water demand needs for the future. We have not seen drought to that extent, but you are correct, with climate change, we continue to see hotter and drier summers.

    You can learn more about water supply projects underway here https://letstalk.scrd.ca/water

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    Are there any new regulations being introduced for new developments/builds to address water conservation? (Ie. Water storage cisterns, recycling grey water)?

    Njen asked almost 2 years ago

    Thanks for the question. Question 8 in the Water Strategy Survey includes a potential tactic about outdoor water efficiency requirements for new developments (for example rainwater harvesting). We’re interested to hear if the community is supportive of this type of initiative and if this is a step the SCRD could include in the final Water Strategy. 

    Any requirements that involve the use of rainwater or greywater indoors would require further collaboration with Vancouver Coastal Health and seek alignment with other jurisdictions on the Sunshine Coast.

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    Have you considered running a pipe from Lake 9 to the head waters of Grey creek and using that to increase the available water source?

    Mike Bessler asked almost 2 years ago

    Thanks for the question. The SCRD has received Board direction to explore potential new long-term surface water sources. This work will start this fall, and Lake 9 and other potential surface water sources like Clowhom Lake or Rainy River will be considered as part of that project.

    We have also have a project starting this summer that aims to increase water supply from Gray Creek. We will collect monitoring data on Gray Creek, that will include modelling of the Gray Creek watershed. We can include within the project scope to look beyond the Gray Creek watershed and determine the feasibility of other sources that could provide additional supply to the existing Gray Creek Water Treatment Plant, like Lake 9.

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    When will you publish the survey results?

    Chris Abel asked almost 2 years ago

    Staff will gather feedback until June 30th, through the survey, by email, and roundtable discussions. We will have space in all roundtable discussions, starting on June 8. More about events here.

    Once we summarise the feedback in an engagement summary report, we will bring it forward to the SCRD Board and post it here. To receive updates about this project, you can subscribe hitting the button on the top right sidebar. 

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    Why is the "Leihigh" gravel pit not being used for raw water storage planning. Surely building lakes for water storage must be part of their required reclamation plan?

    Trevor D asked almost 2 years ago

    For a raw water reservoir to be effective, for both pumping water and in emergency situations, it is best situated at a higher elevation than the treatment plant. The Lehigh site is below the Chapman Water Treatment Plant, and would require significant pumping instead of operating efficiently (and more cheaply) through a gravity-fed system. It matters because this would be a large volume of water!

    The SCRD is now looking more closely at "Site B", located above the Sechelt Airport. A raw water reservoir is just one of several potential water source options. You can read more about this project at https://www.scrd.ca/reservoir.

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    Have done the survey and look forward to the discussions. Can you pls share the climate change predictions (or link) for the Sunshine Coast that the SCRD is currently using? It will be important for residents to know what these planning assumptions are.

    Darlene Tymo asked almost 2 years ago

     

    The SCRD uses climate models to inform decision-making. The latest climate science report for the Sunshine Coast can be found here. The report was developed as part of the ongoing work on a Climate Emergency Action Plan. The latest report used models developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Environment Canada’s Canadian Climate Data and Scenarios (CCDS) tool, the Climate Atlas, and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction's Intensity-Duration-Frequency Climate Change Tool.

    To better understand water supply and demand projections, the SCRD completed a Water Demand Analysis in 2018. This analysis was built on a worst-case scenario that assumes a 180-day drought and water demand increases from higher summer temperatures. The report is linked here and summary presentation here.


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    I see that in 2018 a request to expand the chapman lake (raise the dam) was rejected by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. What were the reasons given and as we now do not have a long term solution for water on the sunshine coast, why is this option not still be pursued and dialogue not going on with the MInistry given the seriousness of our lack of water supply for so many years now.

    steve bastien asked almost 2 years ago

     

    The BC Government did not approve the park boundary amendment that would have allowed the SCRD to expand drinking water infrastructure in Tetrahedron Provincial Park, which is a Class A park. This decision was based on feedback from the public and First Nations. You can read the Province's response here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019ENV0006-000185

    As suggested by the Province, the SCRD is currently exploring the development of other new water sources:

    • Church Road Well Field will be completed by Fall 2022 and will increase water supply from Halfmoon Bay to Soames, adding up to 5 million litres of water per day in the summer. 
    • Langdale Well Field Expansion will add two production-sized wells to the existing water source. Pending a water licence from the Province, the wells could be connected to the SCRD’s largest water system, bringing more water supply to water users from Langdale to Halfmoon Bay by 2025.
    • Gray Creek is also an existing water source that can only be used during dry weather. The SCRD is determining if the existing Gray Creek Water Treatment Plant could be upgraded to be used more frequently, building more redundancy in the Chapman Water System by 2027.

      Together, these projects will help prevent the SCRD from escalating Water Conservation Regulations to Stage 4 in the summer months.

    • At the same time, the SCRD is looking at new water sources for the long term to respond to a growing region, climate change and meet community demand. The new potential sources and storage options could include Clowhom Lake, Rainy River, a raw water reservoir, and/or new groundwater sources that the SCRD has not yet identified. These big projects take time to assess, design and build and would most likely result in tax increases for our community.

      One potential option is a raw water reservoir and work is underway to determine if this is a viable option for our community. This summer, the SCRD anticipates securing crown land tenure from the Province and will update the potential reservoir design by end of 2022. With this information, the SCRD can compare a raw water reservoir with other new potential ground and surface water sources.

    For more information and to subscribe to updates about these projects, visit https://letstalk.scrd.ca/water
Page last updated: 27 Mar 2024, 10:52 AM