No money coming for a community water system for Scotch Creek

A community water system for Scotch Creek won’t be going ahead in the near future.

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District’s application for a $6.5 million grant from a federal/provincial infrastructure program has been denied.

Without the grants funds, the CSRD stated in a news release that it can’t move forward with the project at this

time.

The Scotch Creek Master Water Plan, completed in 2018, identified a service area in Scotch Creek

for which a community water system would be built, owned and operated by the regional district. There has been a

renewed interest from the community to address its water quality issues and to encourage

development in the Scotch Creek area, states the CSRD.

The project was intended to develop the first phase of an overall Scotch Creek water system valued

at $8.9 million.

Due to the costs involved, the project needed 73 per cent capital grant funding

from the provincial and federal governments. The CSRD applied to the Investing in Canada

Infrastructure Program for a grant of $6.5 million. If the application had been successful, the

CSRD was planning to move forward with a referendum for residents in the

proposed service area to determine community support.

The CSRD was advised by the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program on Aug. 28 that

the grant application for Scotch Creek was not one of the projects selected for

funding.

“The program received significantly more applications than could be funded. This decision does not

reflect on the importance of this project for your community, but rather the degree by which the

program has been oversubscribed,” said Liam Edwards, executive director, Local Government

Infrastructure and Finance, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in a letter to the CSRD.

The CSRD states it will consider future grant opportunities for capital infrastructure for the Scotch Creek

Water Extension if they become available.