Editorial
You can envy Canal Flats for a lot of things, but you can’t envy the village for its water treatment dilemma.
The provincial government has mandated that the community upgrade the service via a new multi-million dollar treatment plant.
Okay, here’s $7 million that we found under a rock. Easy for them to say, but on paper it could be a financial nightmare.
It is reported that Canal Flats has never had a boil water advisory in 40 years, which is quite a feather in the village’s cap. So why all the fuss now? Well, under new water assessment standards brought in 14 years ago, the community failed seven of 13 hazard tests, hence the red flag.
It’s convenient for the government to pass the buck to avoid liability, but it’s the residents of the municipality who end up suffering (by paying the price).
Of course, everyone is reminded of what happened in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000 when an E. Coli outbreak sickened many residents and killed several people. An investigation discovered that the water supply was contaminated and there was no proper treatment. In that regard, Canal Flats cannot afford to ignore the potential risk. But at what cost?
While chlorination is often the route chosen to address water quality issues, it’s not favourable to many residents who may want to look at filtration or UV treatment. In any event, the province should be wading in at least ankle deep to help soften the financial blow.
The risk of contamination is always there, regardless of which community you live in. But it doesn’t mean you need a new treatment plant. Of course, if you have millions of dollars in reserve, why not upgrade?
Many small communities in similar circumstances end up borrowing to complete capital projects, but residential taxes go up accordingly; a pill that’s hard to swallow. In the meantime, the village must leave no stone unturned in its quest for grant funding and water treatment alternatives that everyone can live with.
Council may need to hire a consultant to help the village sift through its options, and councillors should be gathering as much ammunition as possible to lug to this year’s Union of BC Municipalities convention. They need to present their conundrum to government ministries to help resolve this.
If they haven’t already, they should also be bending the ear of new MLA Scott McInnis, who might be able to lend an influential hand.
This is one time when too many cooks in the kitchen is a good thing.
Lyonel Doherty, editor
