Bill Dancer, the CBRA’s representative at the Eastside Wastewater Committee, reports on the salient recommendations emerging from the meeting held in the afternoon of July 15, 2015:
- That a centralised system in the Rock Bay area—serving just the Eastside or both Eastside and Westside—be forwarded to the Core Area Liquid Wastewater Management (CALWMC) for further exploration.
- Since public consultation did not identify a clear choice, that Urban Systems reprioritize all sites that are coded yellow or green before the 29th July (date of the next CALWMC meeting)—which in Cadboro Bay would include UVic property in an area between Finnerty and Gordon Head Roads and Queen Alexandra’s Trust Property—to come up with sites for a distributive system.
- That the sites coded red be excluded for consideration (which in our area includes the Haro Woods sites).
- That all Pump Station sites be considered as distributed system sites.
- That the CALWMC include anaerobic digestion & gasification, and resource recovery/cost recovery potential when costing the subsequent secondary and tertiary treatment.
- That Coast Guard, Ogden Point and Banfield Park sites be considered as sites for the distributive system only.
Other points raised:
- The public (and Eastside committee members) want full technical and life cycle costing information before they are next asked for input.
- Frequent updates on progress should be provided online (e.g., weekly).
- Statistics show that the overwhelming participation was by older people (over 44), and that innovative outreach information and educational programs should be created to involve the younger population.
Things to look for in future:
- Date of the next Eastside Committee Meeting: sometime before the 29th July.
- Compare the Eastside’s approach to that of the Westside—notably on the issue of cost—by examining the Westside Wastewater Committee website.