BACKGROUND READING
Island Freshwater - Groups & Resources
Information on other SSI water & natural system stewardship groups: agencies, districts and stewardship groups
Salt Spring Water Preservation Society (WPS)
The SSI Water Preservation Society - active in watershed and potable water preservation, protection, research, and in increasing public awareness. The organisation manages and protects some areas of the island's important, natural, watershed, lands. The WPS is our FreshWater Catalogue (FWC) project host.
Salt Spring Watershed Protection Alliance (SSIWPA)
A watershed protection alliance comprising a number of (island, area and province) agencies and government groups, SSI organisations and interest groups, together steering SSI centric education and outreach, and developing appropriate "integrated watershed" or "freshwater sustainability" water resource planning. See SSIWPA for further details.
Overview of Salt Spring Island water districts (Golder, 2019)
Salt Spring Water Districts & Systems
These are local area groups responsible for managing "community" freshwater supplies (surface or well based) on behalf of connected users in their "district":
North Salt Spring Waterworks District supplying a NSSD community and supporting several smaller water districts/utilities (Scott Point and Mt. Belcher, Erskine Water Society).
Smaller community freshwater groups or "Drinking Water Systems" are, in part, managed by the Capital Regional District (CRD). The CRD manages five different water systems, two of which they operate themselves and three which are operated by NSSWD under contract.
NSSWD manages six of the island's water systems (in addition to its own)
The district/ community island freshwater services and supplies vary from large to very small (see the NSSWD - CRD commissioned 2020 Innova report, and their table of "districts" below)
Salt Spring Island Water Service Optimization Study report Water Systems tabulation (Innova, CRD-NSSWD, 2020)
Salt Spring Island "Stewardship" Groups
In addition to the water districts responsible for island water (surface or groundwater) delivery in various areas of the island there are a variety of SSI groups in place. Increasingly these groups support, manage and protect various aspects of the island's natural environment via freshwater, watershed stewardship efforts, partly in response to climate change:
Xwaaqw'um - watersheds restoration work, a project of the Quw'utsun & Stqeeye’ Learning Society
The Cusheon Lake Stewardship Group - local stewardship via committee of the Beddis and Cusheon Lake area residents
The SS Island Conservancy - active in the acquisition and management of sensitive ecosystems on SSI and in education, with many resources online (species at risk, trail maps etc)
The SSI Forest Watch - providing information on community events and activities around the protection of forests on SSI
The SSI Transition Salt Spring, Ecological Research Network - active in the dissemination and application of science-based research knowledge in the protection of SSI ecosystems
The Salt Spring Island Salmon Enhancement Society - involved in the Salmonoid Enhancement Programme on SSI, various island locations (no website available)
Transition Salt Spring - empowering Salt Spring Islanders to build a thriving community that is resilient to climate change.
In 2022 Salt Spring Island launched a community-oriented Nature Salt Spring Club.
And of course we should not forget our very own Islands Trust, and the Islands Trust Conservancy with a preserve and protect mandate. The trust is a key player in the Salish Sea islands stewardship world.