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How will you ensure a project or projects benefiting Peachland’s watershed receives provincial attention and funding?
Mayor and council need to reach out to the provincial government bringing our concerns to the forefront. We need as council to work being the champion and spokesperson bringing attention to the importance of our watershed. Public engagement and awareness to the importance of our most precious resource.We need to be sure that environmental assessments are being done and guidelines are being enforced. Regular engagement with our provincial counterpart justifying our need for consistent funding.
How would you make this happen?
Working collaboratively with everyone who has a vested interest is the only way to achieve protection for our watersheds. Creating local jobs with local people helps create an inclusive community with a common goal. We should endeavour to forge bonds with the indigenous communities to be partners in stewardship of the environment. Funding needs to be prioritized at all levels of government. Citizens need to be informed and willing to help in the protection of the watersheds.
Explain how you would implement this or why you would not.
Princeton Ave is in need of attention. If it is a commercial route the costs of maintaining and repairs should be borne or at least shard by the provincial government. Clearly their are regular logging trucks and others using this route. Commercial licensing fees are collected by the provincial government and those funds should filter back to the communities who are being affected. Traffic monitoring might be a good place to start. Just how many users are commercial vs local residents. It appears that Princeton is a shorter route for logging and or industrial trucks and for companies mileage is priority. Peachlanders are subsidizing industry and receiving no benefits. Discussion with the provincial government regarding this issue should result in action.
What additions would you suggest to this second request letter, considering clear cutting has continued for the intervening three-plus years and still further road building and tree removal are planned?
It is unacceptable to not receive a reply after three years. The governments failure to respond should be called out. Why did we not follow up and request a response? A new letter should be drafted and sent immediately. Contacting the media might bring some traction to the issues. Can we afford to wait? A campaign bringing awareness and attention to the issues. We have in Peachland an awesome group of people who volunteer to protect our watershed. Their passion is to be commended.
Does Peachland Have Enough Water? As of August 2022, no one in the District of Peachland can confirm we have enough water for all current and planned developments. A rough calculation suggests a population increase of 11,000 is possible if all approved and proposed developments on the books in the planning department are completed and occupied. District Consultants’ water supply reports quote a variety of numbers, gleaned from a variety of inconsistent assumptions. One report stated that in order to provide enough water for these developments, major engineering would be required in order to divert creeks and other water sources into Peachland Creek to feed the Peachland water-treatment plant. Besides the financial costs, such engineering works have the potential to permanently alter the ecosystem of the watershed, destroy fish-bearing habitat, wildlife connectivity, forests and habitat, recreation opportunity, trail systems, hunting grounds, and environmental water flow patterns. How much are you willing to compromise our water source for the sake of development, given that climate change may very well prolong water shortages, watering restrictions and potential engineering works for increasing the flow of water could cause irreparable environmental damage to the very ecosystem that creates the water in the first place? Are you comfortable engaging on behalf of the District if acquisition, disposition or expropriation of land or improvements in the watershed as well as service negotiations with Glencore or other industry, for example, may be involved?*
I clearly do not have an answer to this question.I recognize the importance of clean water and how it sustains our residents, animals, fish and eco systems. I would not be comfortable allowing development to continue without a clear understanding of how many people can be supported. The taxpayers are not an endless source for money. Developers usually don’t live in the community, it is only a means of making money. It’s the residents current and future who will live with the consequences.
. Costs to upgrade, expand or build a new Water Treatment Plant: In 2015, an amendment to the Peachland Water Master Plan was completed by Urban Systems, the conclusion of the report noted that “sufficient water is available within the Peachland Creek watershed to meet the demands of the District of Peachland and the environmental flows as required by the Ministry” at that time. As of today, the existing treatment and distribution system is appropriate for approximately 7100 people. With a future population projection in the region of 15,000, there will need to be some upgrades undertaken to meet those flow demands. For example, after the 7100 threshold is reached, an upgrade in storage / reservoir capacity at the treatment plant will be required. Similarly, once the 11,300 threshold is reached, an upgrade of the treatment plant (allowing us to generate more treated water) will be required. As these costs are principally related to further development, the cost will be borne by the developers through the mechanism of development cost charges. The most recent DCC update report estimates the overall costs for all of these upgrades to be approximately $45M. All previous and current developments did not supply near enough money to pay for the costs of the past WTP nor current new WTP, (usage fees, a $400 annual WTP tax, Federal and Provincial grants contributed to the costs). If elected, how will you ensure that these new costs will not be borne AGAIN by the current residents but, by the developers and the future residents through the mechanism of development cost charges, as the district staff suggest? Do you believe this is even possible? If so, how will you ensure Peachland starts to collect a portion of this $45M in your four-year term?
Water conservation is important. Helping current residents reduce their usage by promoting rain barrels and containment. Plant shrubs or trees that need less water.Developers can create homes with water protection in mind. Developers could be charged a flat fee. There is not one group that should pay. Many different initiatives including the many tourists who visit Peachland and use the services such as the washrooms on beach avenue, the boat launch, splash pad, air B&Bs. They all use water.