First, a big thanks to the current council for revisiting the water treatment with another town meeting to be held May 14 at 6:30 p.m.
The spending of federal, provincial and local money on this project will affect generations of Sicamous taxpayers.
Cows and Gravity
The water from Mara Lake, where the water intake is for the current and the proposed system, flows through farmlands in the valley bottom.
Fertilizer, pesticides and an array of contaminants enter the supply. Lakeshore homes, highway, rail and industry also contribute.
Gravity
A force that can be used to pressurize a domestic water supply system. It is free and has no upkeep costs. A series of wells above Sicamous to the southeast would provide almost pure water at source. Obviously, the purer the water, the cheaper the cost to process it. Well water is free of ground contaminants.
The ground water supply came from this region in years past when our area was know for having the “best water in Canada.”
Glacier stream water is considerably purer than Mara Lake water. The District of Sicamous held, or does hold, a water licence up in the hills east-southeast of Sicamous. The town could be gravity fed.
Kingfisher Creek Ecological Reserve was established in this area by the B.C. government in 1973, an area of 1,495 hectares to provide the highest level of environmental protection. The Kingfisher area was established for the retention of subalpine parkland in an area transitional between dry and wet climates. In 2001, a further 440 hectares was added to the reserve with the formation of Kingfisher Provincial Park. Groups of 10 or more must get a permit to enter this area.
This means there is a supply of water from a large area that is protected from all future development. All motorized vehicles are prohibited.
Dollars
The current water intake site sits on expensive lakefront property that could be sold to help finance the gravity-fed system. Both the current water intake and the existing dock are liabilities.
The intake had to be moved further out in the lake where there is less turbulence.
Mara Lake is always going to be subject to more environmental adversity than the alpine.
The proposed system calls for a number of pumping stations that require electricity to lift the water uphill. Pumps have a constant electrical and maintenance expense and a limited lifespan.
Get gravity working for you – for now, forever.
Larry Bakstad
