NRRM looking at grants to bring potable water to Toad River

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Fort Nelson Mayor Gary Foster says the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality is considering applying to government grants to bring potable water to residents of Toad River.

At a council meeting in July of 2019, Regional Council requested that staff look into options to provide a reliable supply of safe drinking water to Toad River.

According to an NRRM report, initial testing revealed that the existing Community Hall well was in poor condition, didn’t contain enough water for the community, and was unsuitable for drinking.

In a January 10th Council Meeting, Director of Public Works for the NRRM, Lou-Ann Watson, recommended the municipality apply to the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – British Columbia – Green Infrastructure – Environmental Quality grant program to help fund up to 73.33% ($305,000) of the total project cost of $416,000 to build and install a small treated water system at the Toad River Community Hall

In 2021, a new well was drilled, which can provide enough water to the Community Hall, School, and residents in bulk supply, according to an NRRM report.

“You can’t drink this water without treating it. The flow to the Community Hall was about half a gallon per minute, and the casing in that well was deteriorating. So we got a new well drilled. We got much more volume of water. It is still not potable water. But there’s much more flow to the community center,” Foster said.

Foster says the municipality is looking for funding from the province to build the water station.

“It’s expensive to provide drinking water for a small community, but we’re going to look at it. Access whatever funding we can and provide as much service to those people in those communities as we can,” Foster said.

The NRRM said in a February 14th report that an application to the ICIP Environmental Quality Program is currently in progress, with payment of project costs and potential operating costs still being determined.

Regional Council will meet again on March 14th.