Eaglecrest to Shut Down - By Steven Heywood, The NEWS (October 13, 2006)

Breakwater Enterprises Ltd. - Water Source and System Assessment - By Koers & Associates Engineering (pdf report - June 30, 2004)

PQ NEWS, WEEDENDER NEWS, and OCEANSIDE STAR

The Regional district of nanaimo's grants-in-aid committee has recommended funding for The Arrowsmith Watersheds Coalition society in the amount of $1500. (THE NEWS WEEKENDER, October 15, 2004)

Arrowsmith Dam Reservoir Water Levels Dropping - By Jessica Kerr, THE NEWS - (August 13, 2004)

City, RDN hoping to curb people's water use this summer. - By Jessica Kerr, THE NEWS (Posted: August 10, 2004)

.............................

Flooding in French Creek

The water level reading at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 19th on the Englishman River was 293 cubic metres per second. There was major flooding at the trailer park upstream from the orange bridge. This is just another indication of our inadequate rainwater management practices.

Director Stanhope of the RDN requested that staff initiate the Emergency Plan to offer assistance to those affected by the flooding. Sand and bags were made available at the FCPCC and sand was delivered to River Cres. Accommodation was made available to those requesting it. Some elderly residents had already been offered accommodation.

Emergency help for flooding is made available through the RDN. The switchboard remains open late and distressed residents are invisted to call the RCMP, or 911.

Have We Created Winter Flooding with our Runoff Practices?

Cloudy Water in San Pareil - January 7, 2005

This was posted on the RDN web site recently. No mention is made that the RDN forewarned the residents in earlier notices that water well drilling was to be undertaken in their well field. We need to continue to request that the utilities be forthright in all their activities.

Notice to San Pareil Water Customers:

Residents of San Pareil are currently experiencing cloudy water in their water distribution system. The cloudy water does not pose a health hazard.

This condition is a result of the current well drilling project in the San Pareil well field. Well drilling activities disturbed fine silt in the aquifer which was subsequently pumped into the distribution system via an adjacent well.

This adjacent well was taken out of service to limit any further distribution of silt into the system. Two other wells continue to supply silt free water. The system reservoir continues to have silt suspended in the water however and this will take some time to clear through the distribution system. Originally it was anticipated that the silt would dissipate quickly however it is taking much longer to clear the system.

We apologize for this inconvenience and are currently working to minimize the amount of silt in the system where possible.

.............................

RDN SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT UPDATE

The Committee of the Whole considered staff reports (available on the RDN web site) about green buildings and drinking water protection guidelines at its meeting on November 9, 2004 , and passed the following resolutions:

a) Drinking Water Protection Action Plan

- That the Drinking Water Protection Action Plan be received.
- That staff be requested to do a survey of other drinking water protection initiatives around Canada that could help Electoral Areas deal with drinking water protection issues brought up by their residents during the Drinking Water Protection Workshop, to be discussed at the next Ideas & Updates Board meeting.

b) Green Buildings Project

- That the Terms of Reference for a Green Buildings Project be approved, and forwarded for consideration as part of the 2005 annual budget process.

Both of these resolutions will be considered by the Board at its meeting on November 23, 2004.

In regard to the Drinking Water Protection Action Plan, the Plan includes as possible actions for consideration the development of policies/guidelines regarding land use development practices to protect drinking water sources. This matches up with the RGMAC recommendation to the Board to develop such policies/guidelines, based on Sustainability Workshop feedback, and the Board's corresponding request for information about the topic.

In regard to the Green Buildings Project, should the Board approve the terms of reference for the project and approve forwarding the matter to the 2005 annual budget process. This does not guarantee that the project will be undertaken. The Regional Growth Management Services budget would need to be increased by $20,000 for 2005 to do the project, and the Board would consider that requisition increase along with other budgetary requests during its consideration of the 2005 annual budget. There are opportunities for the public to participate in the budgetary process (see the RDN web site for information) should you wish to express your desire to see this project undertaken. As always, you may also individually express your desire for this project to be undertaken through in person delegations to the Committee of the Whole or Board, and or through correspondence to the Committee of the Whole or Board.

For questions, please contact: Christina Thomas, MCIP, Senior Planner, Community Services, Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN).

FARMLAND PROTECTION MAKES CENTS - N(ovember 19, 2004)

After 30 years of success, British Columbians have good reason today to celebrate our Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) as a tool for protecting our farmland, ensuring our future food supply, and providing over 200,000 jobs at BC’s 21,000 working farms and food processing industries.

Smart Growth BC released the State of the ALR report and greenbelt.bc.ca website today, which together provide information and practical tools to protect the province’s farmland, food security and quality of life. The report provides a snapshot of the state of farmland protection in BC and gives citizens and decision makers alike background on the relevant facts, figures, trends and threats. The report can be downloaded from www.greenbelt.bc.ca, which is a place of action where citizens can learn more about farmland protection and speak out directly to key decision makers to protect these precious places.

Kevin McNaney, acting Executive Director of Smart Growth BC, points out that, “It is absolutely incredible to realise that our ALR generates over $2.2 billion in economic activity per year off only 5% of our province’s land base. Even more astonishing is that these farmlands provide over 50% of our provincial food needs.”

The report notes that in spite of this success, the pressure on our ALR is increasing rapidly. There are currently close to 4,000 acres of the best farmland in BC being considered for removal from the reserve for conversion to sprawling subdivisions and business parks. Once these lands are converted to urban uses, the farmland and open space that is cherished by British Columbians is gone forever.

“Before we created our ALR, we were losing approximately 13,000 acres of farmland to urban development every year. Since its establishment, our farmland loss has essentially stopped. A renewed commitment to our ALR is not only essential to the future of the farming economy in BC, but also to protecting livability and green space of communities across British Columbia.”

For more information, please contact:
Kevin McNaney, Acting Executive Director, Smart Growth BC, (604 915 5234).

..................................

CHILLIWACK – The Province has introduced new groundwater protection regulations that will improve the safety and quality of British Columbia’s groundwater supplies, Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection Bill Barisoff announced today.

The regulations are an integral part of the Province’s Action Plan for Safe Drinking Water, which protects water from the source to the tap, and mark the first time that B.C. has groundwater protection regulations in place.

“We made a New Era commitment to protect B.C.’s groundwater and to improve the quality and health of our drinking water supplies. Today, we have met that commitment,” Barisoff said. “With over 750,000 British Columbians getting their drinking water from wells, we need to ensure groundwater is safe, healthy and clean.”

Wells that are not properly constructed or closed pose a risk of groundwater contamination. The new regulations address that risk by establishing standards to ensure wells are properly drilled, sealed, maintained and closed. Included in the regulations are qualification requirements for well drillers and well pump installers and the creation of a provincial registry for those qualified persons.

The regulations also require wells to be flood-proofed so run-off contamination cannot occur during flooding or heavy rains. An additional requirement is that all community wells are to be identified with a well identification plate.

“Water is the fuel that runs the economic engines of our province,” Barisoff said. “Mining, paper processing, agriculture and tourism depend on an adequate supply of clean water. For our personal and economic health, we must do everything we can to protect this vital resource.”

For well owners, the regulations ensure their well will meet the highest health and safety standards.

“British Columbia is a national leader in providing drinking water protection with source-to-tap safeguards,” Health Services Minister Colin Hansen said. “The new groundwater protection regulations are the latest addition to our Action Plan for Safe Drinking Water for protection of public health.”

The Action Plan for Safe Drinking Water also includes:

The creation of a provincial and twelve regional drinking water officers. A multi-ministry approach to ensure proper integration of water protection measures. Additional funding for the B.C. Centre for Disease Control to meet new microbiological sampling frequency.

A provincial drought management plan.

The regulations were developed from recommendations of the Groundwater Advisory Board and in partnership with the B.C. Ground Water Association.

“These groundwater regulations were requested and developed in partnership with industry,” Dave Mellis, president of the B.C. Groundwater Association said. “Well drillers and pump installers know that protecting groundwater resources starts with those that drill the wells.”

For cities like Chilliwack, which gets its drinking water from groundwater, the new regulations mean it can continue to boast about having the best water in the country.

“Chilliwack has twice had its water voted the best in Canada,” Mayor Clint Hames said. “If an aquifer becomes polluted, it is difficult, or sometimes impossible, to restore groundwater to its original quality. These regulations are an important measure in preventing such contamination.”

The regulation requirements will be phased in over the next 18 months. More information on the regulations and groundwater in British Columbia is available through the Subject Index on the ministry’s website.