A retiree who relocated to his “dream home” on Elphinstone Avenue, Paul MacKeigan, said that dream has ended as “we have neighbours from hell; we have the SCRD." He made that statement at a March 28 online information session hosted by the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) on a rushed plan to locate a Sea-Can storage container for Elphinstone (Church Road) well water treatment plant chemical storage on the avenue’s right of way.
During that event, manager of infrastructure services Remko Rosenboom admitted an external sodium hypochlorite storage unit wasn’t part of the original well project plan. He also said area residents were not told in advance that the regional government procured the 20-foot shipping container for the site. Confirming that the unit had arrived on the Coast and was being stored at another SCRD facility, he said he would “re-group with staff” after the meeting to discuss if the storage location could be adjusted. To ensure the regional government is aware of all issues related to the storage unit, Rosenboom told those gathered at the meeting to send comments and suggestions via the “Let’s Talk” page on the SCRD’s website dedicated to the Church Road Well Field project.
Why the rush?
A factor complicating further review on siting is that the unit needs to be in place by April 8, according to Rosenboom. Additional testing of the plant function and the augmented flow levels for Soames Creek is scheduled to start on that date. That work is required for the SCRD to maintain its water licence, which is integral to its ability to draw 4.6 million litres of water per day from the well field to augment its Chapman Water System supplies.
At the close of the online meeting that extended slightly past the hour that it had been scheduled for, director for Area F, where the facility is located, Kate Stamford, said accessing that water “is very necessary for this summer."
One week sees installation plan disclosed then delayed
Residents told Coast Reporter the first communications on the matter from the SCRD were received around March 23 and that in those, the regional district discussed a plan to install the unit on March 27.
With concerns raised during a March 25 general community engagement session hosted by Stamford, the installation was delayed. The March 28 online “community information session” was announced on the SCRD website on March 26.
As the most recent session opened, SCRD staff presented reassurances that their plan to keep up to eight barrels of the water treatment chemical – and potentially the same number of empty barrels – in a Sea-Can specially designed to store the chemical was safer for staff and area residents than keeping them in the plant itself. Another benefit of the external storage highlighted was that it would reduce the number of deliveries required by allowing more of the chemicals to be stored on site.
Members of the public questioned those statements and asked if visual, road safety and other impacts to adjacent residential properties had been considered.
In MacKeigan's opinion, those impacts along with the perceived safety risks of having a chemical storage site next door will equate to a “huge financial hit” for his and his neighbours' property’s resale values.
MacKeigan and others in attendance said they had little faith that the SCRD will keep its promises or comply with regulations based on what they have witnessed with this well field project over the past two years. Those included pump testing and water overflows in late 2022 and early 2023 which flooded Elphinstone Avenue and several downstream properties, what MacKeigan characterised as improper storage of chemicals at the site throughout 2023 and a lack of site security.
During SCRD staff presentations, it was noted that there would be cladding and landscaping added around the unit to improve its appearance. Staff also noted that the treatment plant building now has an intrusion alarm but that there are no security cameras monitoring the surrounding site.
