North Cowichan mayor fears for Chemainus water supply after ruling

By Judith Lavoie,
timescolonist.com July 15, 2011

Chemainus residents are probably looking at another winter of turbid drinking water and boil-water advisories following a B.C Supreme Court ruling that halts a water project, North Cowichan Mayor Tom Walker said Friday.
Justice Catherine Wedge ruled this week that the province and Environmental Assessment Office failed to adequately consult the Halalt First Nation before handing the District of North Cowichan a certificate allowing it to tap into an aquifer that runs under reserve land into the Chemainus River.

Halalt had asked the court for a judicial review of the controversial decision to allow two wells to be drilled on district-owned land.

The extraction wells, which were in operation last winter, drew water from the aquifer from mid-October to mid-June so Chemainus residents did not have to rely on surface water.

There was frequently a turbidity to the drinking water when the heavy rains came in November and January and, over the previous three years,

there have been at least eight boil-water advisories from Vancouver Island Health Authority, Walker said.

"When it was pumped from the wells last year, citizens from Chemainus would stop me on the street and tell me how pleased they were with the clean water," he said.

"It was nice, clean, good-tasting water."

The ruling, which has halted the $6-million project, came as a shock, said Walker, who is planning to contact the Environmental Assessment Office and province to discuss what happens next.

"Primarily this is in the provincial ballpark," he said.

Environment Ministry spokesman Suntanu Dalal said the ruling is being reviewed by the EAO and legal counsel.

"They will be in a position to comment once that review is completed," he said.

The project was funded by the district, province and federal government, but North Cowichan is carrying about $1.7 million in peripheral costs as well as paying its one-third share, Walker said.

Wedge's ruling says pumping of water must be "stayed pending adequate consultation concerning year-round operation of the well field and, resulting from such consultation, reasonable interim accommodation of Halalt's interests."

Halalt members, who feared the aquifer could be depleted, affecting their drinking water as well as threatening water levels and fish stocks in the Chemainus River, are celebrating the victory, which they believe could have ramifications for

First Nations across Canada.

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