Chapman system water will be used to maintain the status quo Sunshine Coast Arena ice season in the coming year. Ice is to be installed at that Sechelt locale in mid-September and maintained to mid-March, as agreed to by the Sunshine Coast Regional District board on July 27.
A board motion on that passed without opposition, but during committee considerations earlier in the day, four area directors voted against taking that approach. Those were Area B director Justine Gabias, Area E director Donna McMahon, Area F director Kate Louise Stamford and shíshálh Nation Government District director Philip Paul. During committee debate, Gabias, McMahon and Stamford voiced concerns about supplying water for that recreational and local government use during a time when the Chapman system may be on Stage 3 or even Stage 4 water restrictions.
Gabias said that sent an “inconsistent” message to the SCRD’s water customers regarding conserving water for essential use when higher stages of restrictions are in place.
The committee considered but did not support a staff report option of hauling water to the facility from another source for ice-related purposes. The report noted it would take about five months to install the necessary onsite water storage system and do modifications to the arena’s ice plant to make that possible. They identified a price tag for that work of about $85,000. In addition, maintaining a skating surface with trucked-in water for a full ice season, including transportation, staffing and other costs, would require adding $60,000 to the arena’s operational budget.
How much water does the arena use?
In the report, staff estimated 80,000 litres of water will be used for ice installation. Over the 25-week ice season, water demand at the facility is forecast to be about 2.25 million litres for ice operations and maintenance. Another 175,000 litres is projected as needed for other uses like showers, washrooms and facility cleaning.
On-site well access a future possibility
As soon as next year, there may be a new option for water supply for that facility. The board also endorsed having staff prepare a proposal to evaluate an existing well adjacent to that arena as part of the upcoming 2024 budget process.
In discussion at the committee meeting, staff noted that a well to meet ice-making demands does not need to meet drinking water standards. They stated that factor could reduce the timelines related to licensing for that well. An important consideration in the proposed assessment of the well will be water content evaluation. Staff stated that water that has higher levels of dissolved solids can negatively impact for the facility’s equipment and affect the quality of the ice.
