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Pratt defends SCRD water strategy following Sechelt chamber critique

Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) director Lori Pratt is defending the board’s strategy for solving the water deficit following a critical letter circulated by Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce.
Pratt
SCRD chair Lori Pratt

Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) director Lori Pratt is defending the board’s strategy for solving the water deficit following a critical letter circulated by Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce.

“We continue to have questions and concerns about how this water supply crisis is being addressed,” wrote executive director Ed Pednaud in a letter on behalf of the chamber, which it shared with Coast Reporter on Dec. 9.

After praising the board on its recent decision to move ahead with a groundwater investigation of Gray Creek, the letter criticized the board’s decision to continue investigating the potential for a water reservoir, asking directors to invest in “independent experts” who could propose additional long-term solutions instead.

Updated estimates on the cost of a proposed reservoir, which climbed from $23.6 to $53 million in the third phase of the investigation, “demonstrates a deficiency in the approach being taken in identifying and assessing supply options,” according to the chamber.

“Recent reports from SCRD staff show proposed solutions will cost substantially more than previously indicated for solutions that will not fully address the demand for water and that could take several years to implement,” chamber chair John Henderson said in a release that accompanied the letter.

“Our members are concerned that the regional district needs to change their approach,” Henderson said.

Concerns were also raised in the letter that leaks “are not being adequately considered.”

In an interview with Coast Reporter, Pratt defended the board’s approach and SCRD staff. “We appreciate the chamber is taking such an interest in water,” she said. “Too few people have paid attention to it for too many years.”

Pratt said the board is approaching long-term planning through the development of a water governance board and regional growth strategy, and underscored SCRD staff’s ability to tackle projects. “We have very experienced staff … and we trust that if staff needs additional expertise, they will let us know and access that expertise.”

Pratt also responded to the chamber’s opposition to the board’s decision last spring to hold an alternative approval process (AAP) to authorize long-term borrowing for both the water meter installations and development of the Church Road well field. According to the chamber, “combining them runs the risk of both being unable to proceed if the AAP is unsuccessful.”

But according to Pratt, that board decision isn’t necessarily final. During the recently completed round one budget deliberations, directors floated the idea of using a referendum to authorize a loan for meters instead of an AAP.

“We need the well, we need the meters. We haven’t made a decision on how we’re going to go through the approval process yet, whether it’s an AAP or a referendum,” Pratt said. “The board is keen to see both happen, so we’ll work that out as we go.”

She also acknowledged the need for public input. “It’s important for us at the SCRD to make sure the community is informed about what the implications are of having these projects or not having these projects,” she said. “At the end of the day, we’ll figure out how to best move it forward in a way that’s economically viable.”

The letter is a follow up to the chamber’s appearance as a delegation to the SCRD board last September, when they said the regional district should move away from reservoirs and instead focus on water meters, wells and a long-term solution.