The Union of BC Municipalities annual convention affords local government the opportunity to meet with ministers. The full Oak Bay council and their CAO, alongside MLA Andrew Weaver, met with Environment Minister George Heyman to discuss the district’s ongoing Uplands sewer separation project.
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The Uplands neighbourhood currently has a single pipe system to accommodate both sanitary sewer and stormwater flows. During heavy rainfall, the storm water volume exceeds the capacity of the system and a combination of stormwater and raw sewage discharges into the shallow ocean waters at the Rutland and Humber pump stations.
In order to separate the single-pipe system in Uplands, as mandated by the province, Oak Bay is building a shallow gravity based storm system with design by catchment area. Last March, Oak Bay Bay was awarded a Clean Water Wastewater Fund grant of $324,958 for the detailed design of the Humber Catchment to be complete by March, 2018. In July, Oak Bay awarded the the Humber work to McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd.
“We brought the new minister up to speed on the good things we’ve been doing,” said Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen.
The system is selected and a plan in place with approval from the CRD Core Area Liquid Management Plan.
“He was very pleased to hear that and certainly undertook to work closely with us on any issues that may stand in the way of us getting it done and getting it done in an efficient, cost effective way,” Jensen said.
Ministry of Environment must still approve. “It’s been delayed as a result in the change of administration,” Jensen said, noting the meeting left council confident they’d hear back soon. “The ministry mandated it be separated and we’ve made a decision on that.”
The only issue he could forsee is the lengthy time required to get the work done.
“We’re confident with grants we can accelerate that and get it done a lot more quickly,” Jensen said.
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