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Water levels dropping in Eagle Cliff, Hood Point and external tanks providing back-up

Eagle Cliff is under stage 3 water restrictions, move to stage 4 likely in coming weeks
A tap with water running

Despite a wet summer, Eagle Cliff Water System users are under stage three water restrictions as of last week and likely see stage four in coming weeks. All other municipal water systems are at stage one. 

The problem lies with the reservoir itself, Bowen Island Municipality’s director of engineering Patrick Graham told residents in a letter last week. Unidentified leaks in the reservoir have caused “seriously low water levels” prompting a request that all system users “take all reasonable actions to reduce water consumption in order to conserve the remaining water in the reservoir.” 

“The problems that were experienced last summer likely to occur again,” said Graham told the Undercurrent. “So we’re getting prepared to address that.”

Emergency measures to ensure the taps don’t run dry in the east side neighbourhood include opening the line connecting the Eagle Cliff and Hood Point Water Systems and installing two temporary 5000-gallon water tanks (likely in the Highland Trail area).

While BIM knows the system is leaking, how to address it long-term is up in the air. The plan had been to install a reservoir liner but the project turned out to be cost-prohibitive indicated the letter. “We have a bunch of work to do to figure out what would make the most sense,” Graham told the Undercurrent. “Whether we’re joining water systems or upgrading the water system as a standalone system…we have to meet the basic needs and we need to do a lot of work before we can accomplish that.” 

The system’s other issues include turbidity, water capacity and water volume to meet firefighting requirements. 

The wet summer so far has been beneficial in terms of how much water Eagle Cliff residents are using but hasn’t resulted in improved reservoir water levels said BIM’s chief administrative officer, Liam Edwards. Water levels are still dropping. “We’re exploring options for a long-term viable solution for them,” said Edwards. 

“Last summer was a real scare,” said Edwards, so this year, BIM decided it needed the tanks as backup.

The other backup is the Hood Point connection. While usually the two-inch line is opened in the winter when Hood Point’s line to its Honeymoon Lake reservoir freezes, the small connector could prove a rescue for Eagle Cliff, though the small diameter of the line and lower water pressure of the Hood Point system could affect Eagle Cliff service, said Graham’s letter. It wouldn’t provide fire flows, he told the Undercurrent.

BIM staff have met with the two local advisory committees in closed meetings over the past week to discuss options. 

 

What happened last year

Over the course of a week in August last year, Eagle Cliff suddenly jumped from having never had strict water restrictions to stage four, shocking residents. “We knew that there was an issue of some sort, we weren’t sure what,” said Tim Misko, chair of the Eagle Cliff Water System Local Advisory Committee. Over the winter they closely monitored the reservoir and discovered it was the source of the problem. “Not saying that we didn’t or don’t have any leaks through the distribution system, but the majority of the problem is the reservoir itself,” he said. 

 An emergency repair to the spillway over the winter didn’t alleviate the system’s stress so the next thought was that the reservoir needs a liner, said Misko. But the cost of a fulsome project proved too great. The closing balance of Eagle Cliff’s reserve fund in 2019 was $243,904 (there’s a levy in the neighbourhood that feeds the reserve balance while user fees cover operational costs said Misko). “The project quickly outstripped available cash,” he said.

 “In light of that…the [LAC] agrees with the approach to take a step back and look and see if there’s another or a better solution out there,” said Misko. 

“The muni is doing a good job at ensuring that there is a backup plan in place for Eagle Cliff,” he said. Misko said that the system itself has been in use in some form for probably 50 to 60 years though the last major work would’ve been done 25 to 30 years ago.

While BIM installed an electronic data logger over the winter, Eagle Cliff residents are doing their own monitoring of water levels (this can be as rudimentary as taking a stone or stick to mark the edge of the water and watching it day by day). 

“Last year, it hit us all by surprise––nobody was expecting it,” said Misko. “This year, because we’ve tracked it and monitored it, followed it closely and put out notices to residents…there’s an awareness of it.”

“I don’t think anybody’s jumping up and down with glee, but there’s certainly understanding that the system has not seen a major capital injection of work or cash in 25-30 years,” said Misko. “And it’s now time to revisit what we have and what we need to do.”