The District of Lillooet is proceeding with its Water Source Replacement Project.
Council made that statement in a May 31 news release outlining an action plan in which the District will respond to George Vanderwolf’s May 23 presentation on behalf of the Lillooet Watershed Planning Committee.
The committee is campaigning for a gravity-fed water option that relies on water from Town and Dickey Creeks. The municipality has already secured $10 million in federal gas tax revenue funding to proceed with its plans for a new system that would pump water from the Seton Canal into the municipal distribution system.
“Consultants on behalf of the District have looked at Town Creek as a water source on many occasions in the past,” Mayor Dennis Bontron commented at a special May 31 council meeting. “They have indicated it is not a suitable or a reliable source.”
The action plan says:
the District will provide a written response to the Vanderwolf water presentation no later than June 15, 2012
Dates will be announced no later than June 30 for the District to hold one or more open houses to provide information about the Water System Source Replacement Project
A series of dates and times will be announced no later than June 30 when the District will discuss the Vanderwolf presentation and the District’s own project
the District will be available after June 30 to make a presentation to any service group or organization interested in hearing about its water project.
Mayor Bontron said the upcoming presentations would explain how the District carried out its long-range water planning, adapted its planning to “the circumstances we’re faced with,” and then committed to the water project because it is “the best long-term solution” for the community.
Five bids – all of them from out of town – were received when tenders were opened May 29 for the next phase of the municipality’s water project. That involves the installation of 400 metres of iron water pipe running from the site of the new water treatment plant located at Cayoosh Creek Park to Conway Park where it will tie into the municipal distribution system.
The District now has 45 days to review the tenders and decide on the winning bid.
