As B.C. Hydro wraps up its purchase of properties that would be wiped out by flooding in the case of a major earthquake, the future of Jordan River is up for debate.
Some say the loss of the hamlet — the area just west of where the Jordan River meets the ocean — and old townsite, to the river’s east, mark the end of an era, while others are optimistic about future growth.
B.C. Hydro has reached settlements with nine of 10 private property owners in the community, including two agreements in principle.
The Crown corporation has also purchased 15 hectares of land in the flood zone, including the old town site, from the Capital Regional District for $3.13 million, it was announced Friday. The CRD will keep the land south of West Coast Road as part of the remaining 165 hectares of land it purchased for parkland in 2010.
Campsites will remain open and a new warning alarm system is being developed with $150,000 in funding from B.C. Hydro.
The buying spree follows a six-year, $10-million seismic study of all 79 B.C. Hydro dams in the province. The Jordan River Diversion Dam was found to be most likely to fail in the case of a major earthquake, potentially destroying everything in its path, including 11 private properties and CRD campsites. “It’s part of our plan to keep people safe,” said B.C. Hydro spokesman Ted Olynyk.
“Jordan River has one of our strongest facilities; it’s robust. It’s just not anything you would build today, in such close proximity to a fault line.”
B.C. Hydro will remove structures, remediate soil and conduct archeological studies, Olynyk said. Some residents will remain as tenants, until at least the end of the year, he said.
As one resident described it, one property has already been demolished, one has been boarded up and one has been lifted from its foundation, leaving an empty hole cordoned off with yellow caution tape.
Mike Hicks, the CRD director for Juan de Fuca, called the resolutions the end of a long journey.
“It’s the best of a bad situation,” he said.
Hicks said he was happy that property owners were being compensated, that the CRD got a good deal on the sale and that an early-warning system would be built.
He didn’t dispute the priority of safety, but said the loss of the hamlet properties and old town site are just the latest short chapter in the story of Jordan River’s decline.
“It had a mine, the big hydro project. It was a proud, thriving community. And this last revelation of B.C. Hydro, saying that [in] a magnitude-9 earthquake, the dam could break, and everyone has to get out now, that’s the sterilization of Jordan River as far as I’m concerned,” Hicks said, noting its population once reached 1,000.
Far Out Pizza, one of the properties in the affected area, will host one last celebration today, before closing its doors for good. The building once hosted the well-known Breakers pub.
“People used to dance in there and drink,” Hicks said. “It was a pub with history.”
Others are optimistic, pointing to newer developments to the west.
“The community is larger than just the hamlet — there’s probably over 120 adults in the area,” said resident Wayne Jackaman.
“The hamlet really represents the character of the community. So it’s more of a deterioration of the character than the community itself.”
Community members are already coming up with ideas for ways to work with B.C. Hydro to keep the land it has purchased in use. It could host a community market, for example. Like the campground, it woudn’t involve long-term or overnight residents and might be permitted by B.C. Hydro, Jackaman said.
He said there are several young families in the community — and, with several children less than a year old, a bit of a “baby boom.”
The Cold Shoulder Cafe remains in the hamlet, leasing property from B.C. Hydro — at least for now. Jackaman said he hopes it’s allowed to stay, as a community hub and source of employment for locals.
Josh Constandinou, the café’s owner, said he employes 10 to 12 people, all locals.
“Our intention is to stay, and we want to stay,” he said. “We’re kind of just waiting to hear from B.C. Hydro. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.
“It’s a good business and it’s getting busier every season.”
