District of 100 Mile House endorses establishment of watershed board

The watershed board has been proposed by 100 Mile House Mayor Maureen Pinkney

Misha Mustaqeem
Dec 20, 2024 11:00 AM

The District of 100 Mile House has endorsed establishing a new watershed board.

During the Dec. 10 Committee of the Whole meeting, council received a memo from the administration regarding the establishment of a new watershed board. The memo, which had been written up by chief administrative officer Tammy Boulanger, stated that the District of 100 Mile House Mayor Maureen Pinkney had requested a discussion on the formation of a watershed board.

The watershed that 100 Mile House is part of includes Horse Lake, Bridge Creek below Deka Creek, Sheridan Lake, Bridge Lake, Sulphurous Lake and Deka Lake, according to a slide by TRUE Consulting.

"As a vital resource for our environment and community, these watersheds require coordinated and collaborative efforts to ensure their long-term health and resilience," Boulanger wrote in the memo.

The proposed board would be independent and play a vital role in community water stewardship going forward.

Attached to the memo was a guide by the B.C. Watershed Security Coalition, that stated "B.C. is one of the few provinces that does not have a system of local watershed boards that can reduce conflict over scarce water resources and solve watershed challenges", adding that this needs to change.

The guide further added a "watershed board operates with a mandate from authority holders - such as the provincial government, First Nations and local governments - to either make decisions or directly advise decision-makers."

"The establishment of the watershed gives you that extra bit of leverage, as well as there is a pot of money that you can pull on when you have a board for those expenses," Pinkney told Council during the Committee of the Whole meeting.

Pinkney said she got the idea from this year's Union of British Columbia Muninciplaities meeting, and that numerous communities around B.C. were talking about their need to secure watersheds in the province.

Coun. Donna Barnett stated that it was a "real good idea", remarking that 100 Mile House tried to get a watershed board established completely by the government back between 2000 and 2003, but they never got there. Barnett emphasized the need to involve the Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation in any board that is formed.

"They do take the water from the creek, and they are very, very engaged, I believe with the Ministry of Environment. So to me, it would be timely before you put the board together to meet and have their input," Barnett suggested.

Coun. Dave Mingo agreed with both Barnett and Pinkney, wanting to see a watershed board formed but echoing Barnett's concerns about the potential cost to the district. He also commented that the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) should be involved as well - and said that he could see the board's establishment getting bogged down.

"I'm going to argue and say that all three CRD board members for our area - because director [Al] Richmond's area does have a little bit of his area that does go into Bridge Creek - so he would have to be a stakeholder," Mingo commented.

Coun. Jenni Guimond told council she was in the same meeting as Pinkney at UBCM, adding that they had $120 to $160 million available in potential provincial funding.

"I think the important thing is setting it up so that we can access that funding and get the support from the higher levels," she said.

Following this discussion Barnett made a motion that the district should move forward with establishing a watershed board with Pinkney spearheading the efforts. Council voted unanimously in favour of this motion.

https://www.100milefreepress.net/home/district-of-100-mile-house-endorses-establishment-of-watershed-board-7704376