A motion to investigate whether it's possible to cap Squamish's water supply and force conservation measures passed muster on Tuesday evening, albeit with the caveat that digging new wells should always be an option if water ever becomes an obstacle to growth.
Councillor Patricia Heintzman put the motion forward, noting that Squamish residents use more water per capita than the national average. She called for a "No New Water" commitment to "explore the potential of meeting all new water demands through efficient use of existing supplies and comprehensive water demand management and conservation strategies."
Heintzman pointed to the City of Calgary, which adopted a similar measure recently over concerns they are running out of water.
"Any time a new development comes up they need to find out how to save water using the existing infrastructure," she said. "Taking the long-term view, it makes more sense to fix leaks than to build new wells to supply water. And from the environmental point of view we don't have any idea what the impact is of drawing millions of litres of water from aquifers, and how it affects aquifers in the valley."
Paul Lalli supported the motion but was more interested in establishing a target for cutting water consumption than banning the development of new wells.
Bryan Raiser said he was happy to see the motion. "I see water metering as a complete no-brainer, even just from the fiscal angle," he said.
Corinne Lonsdale took a similar line. "It costs taxpayers a lot of money to dig wells and put infrastructure in the ground for new water sources," she said. "I don't think what we're asking is too onerous and it could save us, at the end of the day, a fair amount of money."
Councillor Rob Kirkham also supported the motion, but on the understanding that they wouldn't tie the hands of District of Squamish staff if new water sources were needed.
"We do need to look at supply and demand and how to match those... however, we do have a responsibility to provide water to residents. I agree we need to look at this, and the issue of leaks and reducing consumption if that's a concern, but we also need to not be closed to the supply issue."
Doug Race was the lone vote against the motion on the grounds that it might end up wasting staff's time if it has to be set aside to accommodate development or a new industrial water user. "I'm not happy to expend staff resources for a motion that is absolute in terms," he said.
Mayor Greg Gardner said the motion was only to explore the potential of meeting new water demands through conservation, and said that it likely fit in with the district's current water conservation strategy.
Staff agreed and said they could research the motion as part of their current strategy. However, planning director Cameron Chalmers cautioned that it might not be feasible to ban the development of any new water sources.
"Elements of the strategy are already being implemented, water meters are being installed at commercial and industrial properties as well as inline... to help determine where leakage is really a problem," he said.
"Conservation is a direction we're already headed in," he stressed, but said that even if they could reduce water consumption by 30 per cent "we would still require new water sources... not only to meet current demand and growth, but also pressure on the district, fire suppression, that kind of thing."
There was some debate about statistics. Heintzman noted that per capita water consumption is 700 litres per day compared to about 68 litres per day in Germany. However, staff pointed out that the 700 litre figure includes commercial and industrial use, as well as fire suppression and leakage, and that residential usage is more in the neighbourhood of 450 litres per day.
Riverstones breaks ground today
Affordable rental housing took a significant step forward in Squamish on Tuesday as council voted unanimously to give fourth and final reading to the Riverstones project - 84 units that will be guaranteed to the community for at least the next 40 years.
"It's an exciting one for us because this is the first purpose-built rental building in the community in many, many years," said Mayor Greg Gardner, who will be at the ground breaking at 1:30 p.m. today (July 23) on 39776 Government Road. MLA Joan McIntyre and MP John Weston will also be there.
"This is a developer-led project by Bethel Lands Corp, but it's also a significant partnership with contributions from B.C. Housing in the amount of $4 million - which is both provincial government and federal government funds - and the District of Squamish is contributing over $500,000 for it. It's a very good investment from council's point of view and it was endorsed unanimously."
The 84 units will be one and two bedroom, and include up to 48 units of provincially subsidized seniors housing where residents pay what they can afford based on income. For eligible low-income residents and families the rent cap would start at $915 a month for a two-bedroom unit and any increases would be limited.
In order to receive funding from B.C. Housing, the proponent of the project had to commit to keeping the use of the apartment the same for a 40 year period, after which the proponent could apply to change the terms of reference.
Amended OCP receives first reading
Squamish began the long process of determining the future shape of the town by giving the Official Community Plan first reading on Tuesday night, following a few last minute amendments that were made during the July 6 Committee of the Whole meeting.
The OCP, which is mandated by the government, will determine where and how development can take place in the future, emphasizing smart growth, separation of zoning (e.g. industrial zoning would not mix with residential), as well as the reduction of urban sprawl.
According to Mayor Greg Gardner it took years of work to get to this point.
"It's a document we are pleased with, and that's why we had the confidence to take that step forward," he said.
There is still a lot of work ahead to complete the plan. The draft is being referred to various provincial agencies for review, and Gardner says there will be an opportunity for more community engagement as it moves through the approval process.
"This is something the community can and will be proud of," he said.
Council in favour of new ice resurfacing machine, holds line on street sweeping
Squamish council voted unanimously in favour of borrowing $107,045 towards the purchase of new electric ice resurfacing machine for Brennan Park Recreation Centre, and gave the proposal its first three readings on Tuesday.
A representative from the arena laid out the financial case for purchasing the new machine - the cost of an average ice resurface using propane is approximately $2.50, and the arena does roughly 72 resurfacings a week over 42 weeks each year. Comparatively, it costs about 25 cents to charge the electric machine for one resurfacing, which adds up to a savings of $102,000 over 15 years - the estimated life of the new machine.
Council was less receptive to a plea from municipal road crews to increase the budget for street sweeping, digging into the $100,000 contingency on the books this year.
Council suggested that the contingency may not be the best place to find money in the budget, pointing to other items that may be required to come out of the contingency. Patricia Heintzman suggested that the road crew continue to operate with a reduced budget - focusing mainly on downtown and Tantalus and leaving out the rest of the district - until at least mid-September. That would give staff more time to look at money that could be freed up in the existing budget, and would give council a better indication of where the contingency fund stands.
"The remainder of the contingency is a big concern over the next four or five months," she said. "I've been advocating street sweeping, particularly on bike lanes, and I don't want to lose the momentum we've achieved in the last year or two. I just don't think we can take money from the contingency, I'd like to explore where else in the budget we might find some of this money."
Council backed that suggestion.
