On the cusp of summer, the future of critical water infrastructure, policy and storage for the Sunshine Coast's biggest water system is still up in the air.
Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) infrastructure services manager Remko Rosenboom told regional directors May 9 that he anticipated it would take “another year” to secure long-term changes to the Chapman Creek's environmental flow needs (EFN) levels.
Staff “have reached out for a solution for this year” to see more water allowed to be taken from the creek in periods when that would not stress fish stocks, he said.
While continued efforts to convince EFN decision makers – the province and shíshálh Nation – to allow temporary reductions were acknowledged as positives, Gibsons area director Silas White asked, “Why is there suddenly an obstacle?”
White made mention of news reported late last summer that those two authorities had agreed to temporary reductions in the EFN and that a waterway health co-monitoring program had been developed. “Why is it so hard to proceed from there?” he asked.
The 2023 reduction permission was for an emergency situation, Rosenboom explained. To put new rates in place that could be accessed on a year-over-year basis, the province has requested a more extensive creek flow monitoring plan. The board approved about $500,000 in the 2024 budget to do that work and install necessary hardware, he reminded directors.
“Work is ongoing, developing those plans…but the provincial requirements caused us to go backwards,” said Rosenboom.
Halfmoon Bay area director Justine Gabias inquired about a role for elected officials in securing a 2024 EFN solution.
Chief administrative officer Dean McKinley advised that staff were planning for another opportunity to get all Coast elected officials together to discuss water supply matters but had been unable to get a date for that meeting. He said he hoped to have that into their schedules for June.
Future of siphons still not clear
Additional Chapman water supply decisions dependent on provincial and Nation permissions relate to the siphons at Chapman and Edwards Lakes. Those involve ongoing permission to have the siphons in place and then approval to use the siphons once Stage 4 water restrictions have been enacted.
Rosenboom confirmed that the SCRD has the OK to maintain the siphons onsite into October 2024. But he warned that if approval for a longer tenure is not secured, removal of the siphons would have to start in September. He said that could create issues if drought conditions extend into the fall.
Summing up the situations with both the EFN and the siphons, McKinley said “timing is critical.”
