Results of a public survey about the Sechelt sewer system were shared at a Jan. 27 budget meeting, giving a picture of what a tiny slice of Sechelt residents want to see done with the system.
Financial services director David Douglas noted the response rate for the survey was low, with fewer than 40 respondents per question, and that the survey would remain open to collect more responses.
Nearly 80 per cent of respondents said they believe Sechelt needs a publicly accessible sani-dump for RVs to flush their wastewater, while respondents were divided about where it should be located.
Some respondents suggested East Porpoise Bay, either along Dusty Road or Porpoise Bay Provincial Park, others suggested a location near a sewage treatment plant. About 52 per cent of respondents chose the district’s suggestion of “near the highway.”
Most respondents said they would be in favour of paying more to get a district-wide sewer expansion, however councillors were less enthusiastic about the idea.
Coun. Matt McLean acknowledged the appetite but said the focus needs to stay on maintenance. “Any expansion we do is going to be led by development, and funded by development,” he said.
The survey also highlighted the district’s “innovative” sewage treatment process, which it said results in “one of the highest quality effluent output from sewer treatment in B.C.” and with additional processing, the water could be reused.
It asked residents whether they would be interested in the district finding out how much it would cost to “produce and distribute” water for outdoor use, such as lawn watering.
More than 60 per cent either agreed or strongly agreed with that option.
Perhaps surprisingly, results were divided on whether people would also be interested in knowing the cost to produce and use the treated effluent as drinking water.
Fifty per cent either disagreed or disagreed strongly with that option, while less than 30 per cent agreed or agreed strongly. The rest were neutral on the matter.
Mayor Darnelda Siegers asked the drinking water question be removed from the survey going forward, since the district is not considering that option.
A link to the survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DOS-sewer
