Province ranks Yellow Point's aquifer second-most vulnerable on Vancouver Island
Walter Cordery
The Daily News

Monday, February 14, 2011

Concerns have surfaced about the quality and quantity of groundwater in the Cedar-Yellow Point area.

Recently, the Regional District of Nanaimo released a "snapshot" watershed report and its findings have some people in Area A quite concerned, said area resident Laurie Gourlay.

Gourlay, the president of the Mid Island Sustainability and Stewardship Initiative, has planned a meeting for area residents on Feb. 24 at the Cedar Heritage Centre, 1644 MacMillan Rd.

He is particularly worried about a Ministry of Environment finding "that groundwater levels in the Yellow Point aquifer have dropped an average of 13 metres from the year 2000."

Among all aquifers across Vancouver Island the ministry ranked Yellow Point's as the second-most vulnerable due to its low productivity, increasing population and significantly dropping groundwater elevations.

"There is also evidence of salt water intrusion in this aquifer along the coast," the RDN's report states.

"It's worse than we thought it was," said Gourlay.

Gourlay said he believes industrial uses and new developments are placing too much pressure on aquifers in Area A.

He's urging people in the area to attend the meeting to get as much information about the groundwater situation in both Yellow Point and Cassidy.

John Finney, the RDN's general manager of regional and community utilities, said the district's recent report was the first time anything like this has been done.

"Very little was known about the state of aquifers and watersheds."

The reason the study was conducted was because of the RDN's watershed protection plan and district officials needed to gather as much information as possible to determine how to proceed with the plan.

The RDN is in the process of establishing a new Official Community Plan for Area A (Cedar, Cassidy and Yellow Point). Gourlay wants people in the area to come to his group's meeting to become informed, so they can contact the RDN before its deadline to comment on the watershed plan expires on Feb. 28.

While he doesn't think a moratorium on development in Area A is necessary, he thinks developers and the RDN must consider the water supply in an area before approving projects that will put additional pressure on that supply.

As for the Cassidy aquifer, Gourlay said the finding that it is "highly vulnerable to contamination" should be of particular concern, especially as many parts of Cassidy are industrial and that TimberWest is planning a large new development in the area.

Anyone wishing to express their concerns about the Yellow Point and Cassidy aquifers, should e-mail them to the RDN prior to the Feb. 28 deadline. They can be sent to watersmartrdn.bc.ca

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© The Daily News (Nanaimo) 2011