For a few days this month, the residents of Dream Valley Estates in the Garden Bay area were told they could finally resume drinking their tap water. It had been more than a year since a “do not consume” warning was issued to the 19 residences because of elevated levels of arsenic in their potable water by the time the notice was called off on Dec. 6. But on Dec. 13, test results from samples taken on Dec. 6 showed arsenic levels exceeded the maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) at three sample sites, so the “do not consume” notice was immediately reissued by Vancouver Coastal Health’s (VCH) Drinking Water Officer.
“We’ve been waiting for so long for that to be lifted, and now it’s back again,” said Jack Mocarski, a full-time resident of Dream Valley Estates since 2015 who has owned his property since 2007. For those few days, Mocarski said simple things like washing vegetables or boiling pasta became easy again.
Also on Dec. 13, VCH’s website listing current water boil advisories added a “do not use” notice for Clearwater Utilities Incorporated connections in the vacintiy of Irvines Landing. Clearwater is a private company that manages water distribution in that area. An inspection from Nov. 6 shows the hazard rating was listed as “low” but samples taken Dec. 6 triggered the new notice since arsenic levels were above the guideline limits for both the raw and treated water. Affected residents should not use their tap water for direct or indirect consumption, including food preparation. VCH notes Health Canada’s MAC levels are based on a lifetime of daily and consistent consumption of the same water and that “short-term consumption… is not expected to result in significant health impacts.”
A Dec. 13 letter sent by VCH notes “significant mitigation and testing efforts” undertaken by technicians and system operators in the previous 13 months, including significant flushing and a full media replacement. Over four weeks in November, a total of nine arsenic tests indicated the water treatment equipment was successfully reducing the arsenic levels to below the maximum acceptable concentration, VCH’s letter states. This led to lifting the “do not consume” notice on Dec. 6, though VCH’s Drinking Water Officer mandated weekly testing to continue. The owner was also expected to investigate pricing and design of a secondary arsenic removal system, as well as other maintenance or replacement actions. The cause of the latest arsenic exceedance is unknown, the letter states.
Anna Campbell, who has owned property in Dream Valley Estates for seven or eight years and lived there with her family full-time since the pandemic began, said not being able to drink their tap water has been a “total inconvenience” and yet another thing to worry about. She has a three year old and four month old, and her brother and his young daughters live in another unit in the strata.
Campbell said she was informed by an email from the strata council that the “do not use” notice had been reissued in mid-December. But in the days between the first and second notices, Campbell’s bottled water ran out, so — since no notice was in effect — she used the tap water for her toddler to drink and to make her baby’s bottles of milk. Now she worries about what drinking the water could mean for her children’s health.
Increasing charges
The residents also say that their utility bills from Clearwater Utilities Incorporated, the company responsible for the treatment and distribution of water to Dream Valley Estates, have recently more than doubled from $45.25 to $117 per month, despite still not being able to drink the tap water. The increase is also retroactive to August of this year.
Mocarski says the company’s response is “moving too slow” and “an insult” to the people who live there. He’s frustrated that, in his opinion, not enough is being done. As for the retroactive and increasing charges, Mocarski says they are “really insulting us, by increasing the rate when you actually haven’t done anything about the water.”
In an email to Coast Reporter, Clearwater Utilities’ Helen LeBlanc said in the past year the company has been “troubleshooting, replacing, repairing [and] adding to” the system with and following the direction of professionals and will continue as required until the arsenic levels are within safe drinking guidelines again. In the meantime, Clearwater Utilities will continue to provide residents with potable water for drinking.
“The residents are aware of our continued efforts to deal with the arsenic issue. Arsenic is present in much of the water on Sunshine Coast and well documented; however the drought conditions of the past summer etc only exacerbate,” she wrote.
As for the increasing costs, LeBlanc said tariffs are set based on documentation of all expenses, and approved by the water comptroller in Victoria. She said the residents were given the opportunity to review and make their concerns known, and that most of them have.
The 19 affected residences were first notified of a “do not consume” warning due to the arsenic level in their well water on Nov. 4, 2022 — weeks after elevated levels were detected in water supply samples on Sept. 28 of that year. VCH said the error was due to an email glitch.
“Needless to say the whole business with the arsenic contaminated water is very frustrating indeed, especially as it has gone on for such a long time,” Dream Valley Estates resident Nigel Horsley told Coast Reporter. “I am on a fixed income, my pension, so the water charge getting raised considerably really is financially very painful, particularly with the increase being backdated and the water not potable. Hopefully, one day, we will be on mains water so this never happens again.”
SCRD to explore system takeover
On Dec. 15 last year, the president of the strata for the Dream Valley Estates sent the Sunshine Coast Regional District a letter requesting the private community water system be transferred from the current owner (Clearwater Utilities) to the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD). The letter states the residents support and have petitioned for the transfer application started by the owners of Clearwater Utilities, “which is actively supported by both Vancouver Coastal Health and the BC Comptroller of Water Rights as being in the best public interest.” It continued to say the residents are “eager to rally behind a solution that will both ensure our water rights and security, and minimize public health risks…”
This idea came forward in SCRD meetings in March and July, where staff recommended commissioning a condition assessment and feasibility study of the water system and exploring options for the SCRD acquiring and integrating the system into the North Pender Harbour Water Service Area. Up to $30,000 for a feasibility study into potentially taking over or converting the Dream Valley Estates Water System was included in the financial bylaw amendments adopted in a Dec. 14 SCRD meeting. In the SCRD’s Nov. 23 Committee of the Whole meeting’s agenda the funding source was listed as “user fees” and does not include a start date.
With files from Connie Jordison
