Parksville mayor Marc Lefebvre said he’s been flooded with questions about varying water restrictions within the regional district — and he’s seeking some standardization.
“I’ve been getting some different comments regarding the levels of water conservation, they don’t seem to be equal in all places of the RDN,” Lefebvre told staff and board members at the regular Regional District of Nanaimo meeting Tuesday night.
“A level four where I am might mean a level three somewhere else… Can we have staff standardize the levels of water restrictions within the RDN?”
RDN general manager of recreation and parks services Tom Osborne explained each water service provider has different capacity and demand levels.
“They are independent, they reside with individual water services,” he said at the meeting. The water restriction levels enacted upon by each throughout the year is done as they manage their water sources.”
Osborne said each provider uses similar standards, level one to four, for water restrictions.
While he said the RDN likely wouldn’t be able to standardize all water restrictions within the regional district, Osborne said staff will improve communication with the public on watering restrictions.
For more information on watering restrictions visit www.rdn.bc.ca.
Highlights from the regular Regional District of Nanaimo meeting Aug. 25:
• The RDN board approved a co-owner agreement between the RDN and City of Parksville for the administration of the proposed amalgamated City of Parksville Public Works Yard and portion of ERWS lands. The ERWS water system upgrade project includes construction of a water treatment plant and other associated capital works on a combined site consisting of a portion of the existing Parksville Public Works Yard in combination with the jointly owned ERWS lands. The resulting amalgamated lot will be jointly-owned by the City of Parksville and RDN on a proportionate basis of approximately 86 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.
• The RDN board voted to appoint Craig Dishkin of Coastal Animal Services of B.C. as a bylaw enforcement officer for the specific purpose of enforcing RDN animal control and licensing bylaws. The appointment is necessary to give an animal control officer the authority to issue bylaw violation tickets.
• The board received a letter from the joint Provincial-Union of British Columbia Municipalities Green Communities Committee congratulating them for their “successful efforts to measure and reduce corporate greenhouse gas emissions” in 2014. The letter said the RDN was awarded level two recognition — ‘measurement’ — and the GCC provided the RDN with climate action community branding.
