1116 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

A water master plan that includes nearly $2 billion in potential water infrastructure projects over the next 30 years has been approved by the Capital Regional District’s Water Supply Commission.

 

The commission voted to support the document to guide future water-supply planning, and recommended the CRD board approve it as well.

 

The master plan includes an infrastructure program to improve the water supply and transmission system and add redundancy to critical components to address hazards and risks.

 

While most of the commissioners were on board with moving the plan forward following a public engagement process that wrapped up earlier this year, Victoria Coun. Ben Isitt said he was uncomfortable with advancing the plan, given the Malahat First Nation had requested more time to consider it and provide feedback.

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...n-plant-5605860

[Spy Black]

The Malahat First Nation, going by the borders of their own map, have nothing to do with the watershed, and 95% of the watershed is outside of their claimed territory.

This means that what the Malahat First Nations thinks or wants is irrelevant to the regions water supply plans.

 

More likely at the root of this "request for more time to consider" from the Malahat First Nation is the $2 billion dollar figure being tossed about, and leveraging hereditary land claims to try and steer a portion of that $2 billion into Malahat First Nation coffers.

 

As well, Isitt knows regional growth is constrained by the current water supply, so of course he'd like to see the current supply set as a hard limit for the centuries to come, thus ensuring regional growth can't happen.

[Victoria Watcher]

Rainwater almost everywhere on Earth has unsafe levels of ‘forever chemicals’, according to new research.

 

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large family of human-made chemicals that don’t occur in nature. They are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t break down in the environment.

 

They have non-stick or stain repellent properties so can be found in household items like food packaging, electronics, cosmetics and cookware.

 

 

 

https://www.euronews...als-study-finds

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 August 2022 - 06:50 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Victoria has just experienced a record period of drought, and has been identified as the driest city in Canada. And yet at the end of that period our reservoir was still 70 per cent full. How fortunate we are, after such a drought, to have an ample supply of what is possibly the cleanest and least treated drinking water of any city in the world.


https://www.timescol...lympics-6036226



I see that last sentence trotted out often. I see no actual evidence that it’s correct.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 November 2022 - 04:17 AM.

[Spy Black]

I see that last sentence trotted out often. I see no actual evidence that it’s correct.

The CRD actually doesn't make this claim anywhere, it's really only ever made by the press.

 

What is true is that the CRD (unlike most jurisdictions in the world) owns outright 100% of their catchment lands, and forbids almost all activity or access anywhere in those catchment lands.

The result of catchment ownership (along with the massive CRD water testing and water protection machine) is exceptionally clean drinking water at its source, water which requires minimal chemical modification, and which you ingest largely as it came from the Sooke reservoir.

 

This is a great breakdown (and an interesting read generally if you're into such things), containing the roots of why folks make overly grand statements about the CRD having possibly some of the "cleanest water in the world" generally starting around page #10:

https://www.crd.bc.c...fvrsn=8aadfcd_4

[max.bravo]

That was an interesting read, thanks Spy. 

 

Personally I'd rather filter our water a bit in order to allow hiking, swimming, and even waterskiing on our reservoir and catchment area. This is another area where BC's science stands completely separate from the rest of the world, inexplicably. 

[JohnN]

That was an interesting read, thanks Spy. 

 

Personally I'd rather filter our water a bit in order to allow hiking, swimming, and even waterskiing on our reservoir and catchment area. This is another area where BC's science stands completely separate from the rest of the world, inexplicably. 

Well, after spending a billion or so on a filtration plant, you may be able to recreate on Sooke Lake reservoir: 

 

A $1 billion filtration plant is at the centre of a new plan for Victoria's water supply https://www.cbc.ca/n...plant-1.6495230

[max.bravo]

Somehow I doubt they'll allow recreation, even after dishing out the 2B for filtration. 

[Spy Black]

I believe that the only reason behind the filtration plant plan is in order to justify the otherwise boneheaded CRD purchase, and (expensive) remediation of the Leech River lands, the plant needed to filter the otherwise completely unusable water from the Leech River/Cragg Creek source.

 

Protection from the effects of "Climate change" seems like a far better (more woke?) rationale to admit to in public than admitting that you (the CRD) purchased almost the entire Leech River, but "sorry", the water from the Leech can't be used for drinking water as it is due to the turbidity.

 

The CRD water folks are like their own massive bureaucracy, their own little dominion, almost like a private club ... and those club members want more land ... more money ... and more "rights" to kick everybody else out of their clubhouse, that clubhouse currently being a huge swath of the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

Edited by Spy Black, 01 November 2022 - 01:06 PM.

[JohnN]

Not sure recreation in Sooke Lake reservoir lands or Leech lands would be safe during the First Nations traditional hunting expeditions: 

T’Souke gain access to Leech watershed; commission wants limited use  https://www.timescol...ted-use-4634394

 

If federal water quality requirements force the billion-dollar++ filtration plant on CRD taxpayers, that might at least serve to reduce objections to building a new highway through the reservoir lands  - maybe similar to the old Highway 117 that was closed then flooded by reservoir expansion. 

 

An alternate route for Malahat shouldn’t go through Sooke watershed, says CRD director  https://www.sookenew...s-crd-director/

Edited by JohnN, 01 November 2022 - 01:13 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

I believe that the only reason behind the filtration plant plan is in order to justify the otherwise boneheaded CRD purchase, and (expensive) remediation of the Leech River lands, the plant needed to filter the otherwise completely unusable water from the Leech River/Cragg Creek source.

 

Protection from the effects of "Climate change" seems like a far better (more woke?) rationale to admit to in public than admitting that you (the CRD) purchased almost the entire Leech River, but "sorry", the water from the Leech can't be used for drinking water as it is due to the turbidity.

 

The CRD water folks are like their own massive bureaucracy, their own little dominion, almost like a private club ... and those club members want more land ... more money ... and more "rights" to kick everybody else out of their clubhouse, that clubhouse currently being a huge swath of the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

 

I agree with all of this.  It's too bad we don't get some better say over this.

[max.bravo]

The CRD water folks are like their own massive bureaucracy, their own little dominion, almost like a private club ... and those club members want more land ... more money ... and more "rights" to kick everybody else out of their clubhouse, that clubhouse currently being a huge swath of the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

True. I met a guy once who worked for CRD and bragged to me that he has a gate key. Said he 4x4s up there all the time, bringing whoever he wants, it's like a private wilderness club for him. Or so he told me. 

[Victoria Watcher]

The Greater Victoria Water Supply Area is located northwest of the City of Victoria and is comprised of 20,550 hectares of forested land in the Sooke, Goldstream, and Leech watersheds. These lands are owned by the CRD and managed by Integrated Water Services (IWS) Department.

 

https://www.crd.bc.c...IWS) Department.

 

 

 

^ that's around 205 sq. km.

 

Greater Victoria is around 695.

[Nparker]

The CRD is an entirely useless level of government and only exists because the fiefdoms can't get along and/or refuse to contemplate any sort of amalgamation to better serve its residents.

[Victoria Watcher]

The CRD is an entirely useless level of government and only exists because the fiefdoms can't get along and/or refuse to contemplate any sort of amalgamation to better serve its residents.

 

I think it has some value.  Taking care of the very large regional parks seems like the right thing.

 

On the watershed, they should just allow us some more reasonable access.

[max.bravo]

We could house a lot of immigrants in the Sooke hills.

[JohnN]

Back in about 1990 or so, local environmentalists such as Sierra Club and others got active opposing logging in the Sooke Lake Watershed. Got quite heated, with noisy public debates and all sorts of accusations of corruption.

 

Some of the local news headlines from about 1990 give a hint at the rancour and conflict: http://www.bctwa.org/Victoria-NewspaperArticles.pdf Kind of like that Chinatown movie with Jack Nicholson although I don't think anybody has been murdered who opposed the reservoir's continual development. 

[Spy Black]

True. I met a guy once who worked for CRD and bragged to me that he has a gate key. Said he 4x4s up there all the time, bringing whoever he wants, it's like a private wilderness club for him. Or so he told me. 

This is seen over and over again, and is absolutely true.

 

Most of the CRD water lands are surrounded by other heavily secured private lands (primarily Kapoor Lumber and Mosaic/Timberwest), but there are two primary entrances directly into the CRD lands that are directly accessible to many dozens of CRD employees and contractors, folks who have gate keys. 

Those two direct entrance points are at Goldstream, and at Shawingan Lake, and are the two entrance points CRD employees with gate keys use to access their private recreational paradise.

 

One must recall that CRD Integrated Water runs their own private police force, and those folks are by-law officers who patrol the watershed 365 days a year. Those by-law officers don't make much of seeing their buddies from work up wheeling around Council Lake, or exploring the west side of Sooke Lake ... and they offer just a quick wave to their buddies from work, and then go back to looking for Joe Citizens who have dared to try and get into the watershed.

[Mike K.]

Is this recreational use of those lands by employees common? Or is it just one guy now and then who fishes some creek or lake?

[Spy Black]

I wouldn't describe it as dozens and dozens of CRD employees, as not everybody with a key wants to recreate where they work.

But if you're a fisherman, or a 4-wheeler with a key ... the watershed is one of the best parts of the southern tip of the Island to engage in those activities.

 

There are a lot of CRD keyholders (and an equal number of independent contractor keyholders)

I often see non-security CRD employees up there on weekends.