“Transformational” was how shíshálh Nation lhe hiwus yalxwemult Lenora Joe described the Jan. 16 announcement of a $117 million federal investment in the region’s water system. She said that upon being advised that the approval of the funding had been made, “I was so, so excited, I cried.”
The money will support the development of two reservoirs and cover costs to upgrade the existing Sunshine Coast Regional District’s (SCRD) Chapman water treatment plant to “manage water within the Chapman Creek watershed, which currently provides municipal water to approximately 76% of the population of the Sunshine Coast,” said in a joint press release.
The project will be led by the Nation in partnership with the SCRD and with the support of Heidelberg Materials.
The federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund project funding was announced by MP Patrick Weiler (West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky Country) at shíshálh Nation’s Our House of Clans facility in Sechelt Jan. 16. About 50 representatives of the Nation, other lower Sunshine Coast local governments, Heidelberg Materials and the federal government were on hand to applaud the announcement and hear lhe hiwus detail the project.
Chapman system stressed in recent years
The SCRD’s Chapman Water System has been stressed by a combination of difficult supply conditions exacerbated by drought and warmer-than-average summer temperatures paired with increasing demands. In October 2022, the SCRD as well as the District of Sechelt and the Nation declared states of local emergency related to dwindling availability of potable water from that system.
“Climate change is impacting all of our lives and we must adapt,” lhe hiwus stated in the release. At the conference, she said, “This is a legacy project, so we have our past leaders and ancestors here to thank them for continuing to look at areas that affect us…we are the privileged ones that get to see this project to this stage.”
She described that her early days in the leadership office at the Nation were quickly followed by regional water summit meetings, which led to the development of the project. Acknowledging the contributions of all lower Coast local governments as well as representatives of the province and the federal governments who were part of that process, she said the summit meetings’ focus was “how are we going to support the people on the Coast, in our swiya, to ensure that everybody has access to water.”
Speaking about the Chapman Water System’s heavy reliance on flows from Chapman Creek, she said, “we could no longer depend on that source. We knew that was a temporary fix to use that water and now we are going onto the next thing.”
lhe hiwus stated Weiler “paved the way” for the project group’s work with ministers in Ottawa to reach the funding approval result. “We have a lot of work ahead of us… but it's an amazing day,” she stated.
During the question period that followed the announcement, Weiler said, “I can definitely confirm this is the largest announcement I have been able to do for Sechelt or for any other local area of the riding that I am privileged to represent. One of the reasons this is such an exciting incredible announcement, as was mentioned, this is going to be absolutely transformative and address maybe the biggest anxiety that folks have.”
In the release, SCRD board chair Alton Toth stated, “Through this collaboration, our region is able to finally look to the long-term. Not just the next year or the political term, but generations, knowing that we will have greater water security than ever before. This project is not the end of a process, but rather the first milestone in a partnership that will outlast us all.”
Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
