Capital Regional District directors have narrowly approved allowing 30 homes in East Sooke — many with failing wells — to hook up to city water.
The 12-10 decision came this week after directors met behind closed doors to receive legal advice on the matter.
The razor-thin margin was enough to allow Juan de Fuca director Mike Hicks to apply for federal/provincial funding for the project.
While relieved that the vote went his way, Hicks was frustrated at how difficult it is to get potable water to 30 homes when at the same meeting, directors easily approved providing water to service to 5,000 new homes as Langford’s Bear Mountain development expands.
Hicks said he was “shocked” that CRD directors will, on one hand, embrace the David Suzuki Blue Dot strategy recognizing every person’s right to clean air and water and then turn around and balk at providing water to 30 homes in East Sooke.
“It just blows me away still,” Hicks said. “We sell water to cruise ships. We provide clean beautiful water from the Sooke Hills to clean salmon and halibut at the Beecher Bay marina. We spray water on the roads to keep the dust down,” Hicks said. “I’m asking to provide water to 30 East Sooke residents.”
Before the debate, directors heard from resident representative Marty Strybos, a resident of the Anderson Cove area for more that 20 years, who outlined a litany of problems with area wells, many of which performed well when first drilled.
“I don’t know how many of you don’t have access to an adequate quantity of water, but for us the results are always quite clear: you can’t bathe every day. You can’t flush every time you want to. It’s a rare occasion when you can water your garden. We can’t wash our clothes sometimes, and if the water is bad enough, you can’t even have a drink of water,” Strybos said.
His message wasn’t lost on some directors.
“If this area was in Haiti, we’d probably be doing fundraising to try to get the people water, but here they are in our own community and we don’t want to give them water,” said Langford Coun. Lanny Seaton, adding that there should be no concerns about sprawl because the people are already there.
But others such as Victoria councillors Ben Isitt and Geoff Young voted against. Young called it “a classic case of low-density suburban sprawl” and said that once city water is provided, “things have a way of densifying,” as people add the likes of suites, carriage houses and small-lot subdivision.
“I think the issue we should be dealing with is what are we trying to achieve with the Regional Growth Strategy.
“If you take the point of view that once people are there, they’re living there and we’ve got to give them water, there’s no end in sight,” Young said.
The 30 homes in question are 500 metres away from the end of an existing CRD water line, Hicks said.
The legal wrangle arose from the CRD’s Regional Growth Strategy, enacted in 2003.
In 2002, the Juan de Fuca water-distribution area was established, and included the
30 homes in question on or near Anderson Cove Road. The following year, the Regional Growth Strategy was enacted. It included the provision that in the Juan de Fuca area, there would be no further extension of water.
Hicks was arguing that the residents of Anderson Cove were in a water-servicing area established by a bylaw that was never repealed or amended.
Hick’s argument was those residents should not be denied access to water based on the Regional Growth Strategy, but CRD legal advice was that the strategy trumps the bylaw.
Hicks noted that since 2003, about 85 properties in East Sooke, including the Silver Spray development, were provided CRD water, and a decision to allow servicing of Anderson Cove would be consistent with other service extensions in East Sooke.
The clock was clicking on the decision as funding for the project — estimated at north of
$1 million — has yet to be found. Hicks hopes to apply to the recently announced federal/provincial $373.6 million Clean Water and Waste Water Fund, but application has to be made by next month.
Hicks has been battling for years to ensure the Regional Growth Strategy doesn’t block provision of city water to residents in need in his community. The unanimous consent of all 13 municipalities is needed to get CRD water service in the Juan de Fuca area — even when a homeowner’s well has run dry
Proposed changes to the Regional Growth Strategy would allow water servicing in the Juan de Fuca area by majority vote of the board if it is required to address a pressing public-health, public-safety or environmental issue for existing residential units, or to service agriculture.
Public hearing set for Wednesday
The Regional Growth Strategy is a vision for the future of the capital region, guiding decisions on regional issues such as transportation, population growth and settlement patterns. The existing strategy is being updated as part of a five-year review process. A public hearing on the revised strategy is scheduled for Wednesday at the Capital Regional District offices, 625 Fisgard St.
