‘Genuinely stressed’: Gibsons mayor wants B.C.’s help as Sunshine Coast prepares for drought
Global News
Silas White wants the province to clear some of the red tape that's currently slowing down efforts by the Sunshine Coast Regional District to bolster its water supply this season.
With residents of the Sunshine Coast under water-use restrictions once more, the mayor of the Town of Gibsons has penned a letter to the B.C. government, calling for aid in anticipation of drought conditions.
Silas White wants the province to clear some of the red tape that’s currently slowing down efforts by the Sunshine Coast Regional District to bolster its water supply this season, easing the pressure on its primary source, the Chapman watershed.
Last year, that watershed “completely dried up” under Stage 3 and 4 water restrictions, which are classified as “acute” and “severe” measures needed to preserve drinking water.
“Our annual water restrictions have only just begun and many Coast residents are genuinely stressed by the prospect of our community running out of water this summer,” reads the May 31 letter to Premier David Eby, several cabinet ministers, and local First Nations and municipal leaders.
“My primary reason for writing you is to share with you this significant mental health and social phenomenon that has become absolutely real in our community, because it does not show up in our water license applications or technical reports.”
Stage 1 water restrictions, which primarily limit plant and vehicle-watering, took effect in the Sunshine Coast Regional District on May 1.
White’s letter asks the province to “immediately” approve an amendment that would lower the designated environmental flow needs of Chapman Creek, which feeds the Chapman Water System, and green-light a final license for Church Road Well, which could add up to three million litres of water per day to the Chapman system once construction is complete.
The letter also asks the B.C. government to approve, without delay, the district’s request to siphon the Chapman and Edwards lakes this year and next year during Stage 4 water restrictions, should the need arise.
