The Electoral Response process that the municipality started to get approval for borrowing $1.7+ million is no more. Instead, North Cowichan will be borrowing the money under the Council Initiative process. So instead of 10% of the electorate forcing a referendum on the matter, now more than 50% have to voice their opposition. At first glance, borrowing the money is a no-brainer. Chemainus will get clean water from the Chemainus River aquifer. No more Boil Water advisories during the winter. No more 'brown stuff' in our bathtubs. But there is a lot more to this issue. Since 2006, the CRA has been calling for a comprehensive watershed management study of the Chemainus River before this project goes ahead. We have held Town Hall meetings about this issue, have published articles in the local press about it and have supported Halalt First Nation in its 6-year campaign against this project. Read our recent letter of support here. During a lengthy BC Environmental Assessment Office inquiry into this project, Halalt's hydrologist proved that the Chemainus River is directly linked to the aquifer and that continued pumping showed a noticeable drop in the river's level. The Chemainus River is very fragile river system. For 20 years the Halalt people have been working with other to re-stock the river's salmon. They also havest hundreds of thousands of pounds of clams in the river's estuary. The river and its habitat has been severly impacted by development and logging in the watershed. The CRA thinks that a watershed study is a very simple, common-sense step for North Cowichan to take before it begins pumping water from the aquifer. One must remember that the first steps in the aquifer project was started in 2003 when residential development was starting to boom in the Chemainus area. Although technically North Cowichan would only be allowed to pump water from October through May, many of us fear that there could some day be a demand for year-round pumping which would be catastrophic for the river system. Chemainus currently gets its water from a surface reservoir fed by Banon Creek and Holyoak Lake. North Cowichan has not properly investigated the costs of enlarging this reservoir and protecting this watershed from logging and other possible contaminants. Hundreds of municipal water systems across Canada are fed by surface water. Filtration and other protective measures may be costly in the short term. But irretrievable damage to an aquifer brings unimaginable costs. In addition, North Cowichan should think about other impacts of its wells project. The pumps will be powered by ever-more expensive electricity. Constructing a five-kilometer pipeline and a million liter reservoir has costs more than just in dollars. Of course, there is no easy solution to such challenges. But we respectfully ask North Cowichan's powers-that-be to step back and take a wise and thoughtful second look at this project and its impacts. | And some of your reactions Referendums cost money (the Municipality has little – certainly not extra - due to the Catalyst situation). We will need water regardless, there are few options. Surely, this initiative hasn't been undertaken with some due forethought. Let's give the folks we've hired the ability to do their jobs and quit second guessing them on every issue. Enough already, efforts are best spent building bridges with elected officials and administration, not continually ranting and complaining. Respectfully, L.Y. North Cowichan just started this project because federal money became available in 2003 and they wanted a piece of the pie. No comprehensive studies were carried out. Remember, this was at the start of the boom and a good water supply was needed. No one cared where it came from. L.J.W. Dear Mayor and Council It has come to our attention that you are worried that you have only heard from a few citizens of Chemainus on the issue of the Chemainus Aquifer, so we are adding our voice to those who oppose the use of the aquifer for domestic or other purposes. With the threat of global warming hanging over us, combined with the melting of the glaciers that have historically provided us with our pristine waterways, there are good scientific reasons why we should forgo tapping into this underground system. We also commend the Halalt people for their concern for the river, and we could all take a lesson from their book. Humans are notoriously wasteful and if we are to survive with some semblance of of our present comforts we must learn to practice conservation in every way we can. Preparing ourselves for more dire times by understanding that forests are the perfect carbon sinks, and where we can, preserving them for the future while restoring the watersheds that bring us life and prosperity is, in my view, the first order of business. Teaching our children the importance of nurturing our natural systems is equally important. Unfortunately humans (especially politicians) are short term thinkers and those too young to have a say in the bad decisions of their parents will be paying for these decisions for years after we have gone. Are you prepared to leave them a diminished environment where the "I want it now" policy rules, or one like we older people were fortunate enough to born into too many years ago, one that supported us well and was lush with life before we degraded it. We would hope that, in spite of the coming problems with the rise in temperature, we can, if we have the will, leave an intact ecosystem to our descendants. We implore you, as our representatives, to consider the consequences of your decisions in these matters Yours Sincerely Bernice Ramsdin and Gordon Skrepnek |
Chemainus Wells and the Aquifer
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Garry Oak ecosystem
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