The City of Parksville has entered into a professional services agreement with Kerr Wood Leidal and Associates Ltd. for the first phase of a comprehensive water use planning and management study.
"Water security is a key issue for our community and as elected officials, our goal is to provide visionary planning to ensure necessary infrastructure for potable water in the future," said Mayor Doug O'Brien said in a news release that announced the agreement. "One of the commitments to our constituency was to start planning for the resiliency of our potable water supply in the face of development and climate change challenges."
Phase 1 is intended to assess future water supply and demand scenarios and options.
The ultimate goal is to provide a cohesive plan which will consider the impact of factors including climate change, aquifer health and population growth, as well as identify different source and storage options and potential for possible hydroelectric generation.
The plan is also intended to prepare a baseline 50-year demand forecast including review of resilience and redundancy systems, while considering existing surface water licences on the Englishman River.
It is hoped that the use of hydrological modelling will allow for identification and assessment of potential alternative water storage locations anywhere within the Englishman River area, while considering seasonal off stream storage capacity, whereby water can be withdrawn during winter when natural flows are abundant and contained in off-stream storage facilities which can be used as a source in the drier summer months.
The report will examine the option of installing hydroelectric generation at the Arrowsmith Dam, reservoirs, or inline generation, after assessing bulk water scenarios based on a series of reservoirs within the watershed. This source of power could possibly offset energy load requirements throughout the Englishman River water system.
"It is our hope the plan will define the capacity of the existing Englishman River Water Service and Parksville water system, incorporating environmental and habitat enhancement flow needs and comprehensive water master plan data," O'Brien said.
The proponent has a proven track record and significant experience and expertise, he added.
"They have completed water supply and strategic master plans, load displacement feasibility studies for hydropower and demand modelling locally and throughout B.C.," O'Brien said. "I am confident this local knowledge and experience will ensure Parksville’s water plan is based on quality research and provide informed recommendations."
