BY:

Mary Cooper, Chair
Mayne Island Water Systems Society

I’m pleased to be here and thank you for the invitation. I’m not really a speaker, and what is not in the bio is that I’m generally thought of on Mayne Island as the water witch.

I think we can all relate to those little sayings our mothers had ones that made us eventually shudder. Mine was “when its gone, its gone”, and here we are deep into discussions about groundwater and I’m thinking like my mother.
I come to you from an organization of doers, if its water on the islands, we’re there ! While we’ve been around since the mid 80’s, our agenda for the past 3 years has been an especially active one

-We write articles for papers all up and down the islands, Saturna, Pender and Galiano, on up to the Gabriola Flying Shingle and the Central Saanich News

- We organized a UV and filtration system for Lions Club dining hall, by donation

- We installed signs for seasonal groundwater awareness.

- We’ve stocked a new water resource shelf for our library,to date, by donation

- We have given talks on water conservation measures on the islands

- We have protected groundwater in local bylaws through our Official Community Plan review (that one took 18 months of meetings)

- We have one on one consultants available for well, water and septic systems at our fall fair booths

-We set up a website mayneisland.com/water-e-mail: watergulfislands.com

- We have lobbied for provincial groundwater regulation changes for hydrofracturing, protecting our wells and aquifers.
The article, available here FYI, explains hydrofracturing and the effect is could have on existing wells and aquifers. There are currently no restrictions as to distance or sphere of influence for neighbouring wells, and no estrictions as to proximity to shorelines, possibly opening up an entire aquifer to salt water intrusion. Hydrofracturing is just not mentioned in existing legislation. We think we may have been successful in having the practice legislated within Phase 3 of the new groundwater regs, and the Island Trust Exec supported our position verbatim in their letter to the Ministry of Environment.

- We lobbied for rainwater collection within the building code bylaw

–We appear to have put the brakes on a land speculator’s grand development scheme for a density rezoning cash cow located in a groundwater basin for 950 Mayne Islanders relying on community and private wells.

-We supported the Pender Island Magic Lake Estates community in their efforts to jointly acquire available land for watershed protection. The recalcitrant at the table is Parks Canada, considered by many islanders to be less than involved community member.

-We maintain 5 e-mail lists, including one for the government so they know who we are when we come hat in hand, and to date we are most appreciative to our Southern Gulf Islands CRD Director Susan DeGryp, and Local Islands Trust Committees for continued support.

-For the past 11 months we have been fighting for an amendment to the gas tax rebate agreement for a low flush toilet rebate program for our islands using the federal rebate money. The update to this week is that we have the nod from the CRD, the Union of BC Municipalities but there is a “you first” stand-off between the Minister of Community Services Ida Chong and federal Infrastructure Minister Lawrence Cannon.
We need an amendment to allow for infrastructure installation that will not be government locally owned. Any water conservation project that agrees with the motherhood intent of the agreements, but not those 3 words can only apply to CRD districts, yet the taxes have been raised from every resident on our rural islands. We have no qualified infrastructure.

We are rural and rural residential. To our islanders faced with impending water problems due to government encouraged tourism and development, this project is a no-brainer. While they talk in millions for municipal infrastructure upgrades, we are talking about $432,000 for 4 islands.

-We held workshops for the education of local water boards on bylaws and product delivery, leak detection and small water systems operators courses to ensure a supply of qualified people for the islands, and another 2 day course for small water systems operator certification, making 12 new operators available for the islands.

All of our workshops help the islands to maintain certified operators by having qualifying content Continuing education units. Operators must take ongoing courses to maintain valid certification and from the islands, course and travel expenses are becoming prohibitive.

-And lastly, our greatest success story, our April one day water workshops.

The 4th annual Southern Gulf Islands Water Workshop: The Year of the Aquifer will be held at the school gym, April 26, 2008. Presenters will be:
Dr Diana Allen from SFU, speaking on Groundwater Recharge and Aquifer Vulnerability: Climate Change Implications and Salt Water Intrusio-
Dr Asit Mazunder, UVIC, on pharmaceuticals in groundwate
Oliver Brandes, political ecologist, senior research associate and author with UVIC Polis Project
Dr Quentin Cronk, UBC Director of Botanical Gardens on zerescaping
Dr. Alfonso Rivera, Chief Hydrologist for NRCan
Vicki Heater from the San Juan County Health and Community Services
Tim Pope, American Rainwater Collection Systems Association
Red Williams, well driller, with straight ½ hour Q&A on wells
Dave Mellis, instructor for pump installers & Director of BC Groundwater Assoc, addressing arsenic removal from drinking water

As well, we will have 8 exhibitors, information tables, water test kits ,and generally anything we think will be useful for the well owner.

Registration fee will be $25 for the day including lunch, and we produce a report for participants, also available on our website. Advance registration begins March 1 to April 15, after that it’s onto a waiting list and we again expect a full house at 130. Watch our website for forms and details.

So now the free advertising is over, lets move on to an action plan: