The District of Lillooet will officially respond to the Lillooet Watershed Planning Committee at a public meeting this Tuesday, July 31 in the Lillooet REC Centre gym.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m.

After the Watershed Planning Committee held a public meeting May 23 to present its alternatives to the District’s planned $10-million water project, municipal council said it would respond on the District website and at a series of public meetings and presentations.

In an interview with the News today, Mayor Dennis Bontron noted George Vanderwolf’s May 23 presentation on behalf of the planning committee had been described as “simple and straightforward.”

“Quite frankly, building a community water system is not as simple and straightforward as some people believe,” said Bontron. He added that Vanderwolf’s presentation “ignored the realities” of issues such as access, road construction, $4.5 million required for water treatment, Interior Health regulations and guidelines and the requirement to pump water uphill from Bob Dew’s North Lillooet property to serve Lillooet Secondary School.

He added that the committee provided no geo-tech information on the safety of its proposal to build reservoirs above town.

“In the best of all possible words, we can dig a huge hole in the ground and add three million gallons of water, but not above my house,” Bontron commented.

He said council gave direction to Chief Administrative Officer Grant Loyer to prepare a point-by-point, side-by-side presentation next week as a rebuttal to the committee’s May 23 presentation.

The mayor added that council intends to follow up with an open house later this summer, which will include Interior Health representatives (depending on when the IHA officials are not on summer holidays.) “The public will have the opportunity to ask questions at length at the open house,” said Bontron.

Loyer told the News Tuesday’s meeting will include a public question-and-answer session at the conclusion of the District’s presentation.