BC Hydro committed to safe drinking water in Hudson’s Hope

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Discourse continues as the District of Hudson’s Hope approaches the date of a vote to construct a new permanent water treatment plant.

On October 5th, the residents of Hudson’s Hope will vote to approve the borrowing of almost $5 million to build a permanent water treatment plant, which is necessary to secure the future of clean drinking water in the district.

Since this announcement in July, the district has hosted an open house with residents and spoken publicly about the complexity of the situation. 

Greg Alexis, Senior Manager of Public Affairs for the Site C Project, spoke about the project’s history in Hudson’s Hope and the ongoing support BC Hydro is committed to providing to the community. 

“We appreciate this has been a very challenging issue for residents and businesses and Hudson’s Hope for the last couple years, and we continue to work collaboratively with the district to resolve the issue,” Alexis said. 

Alexis explained that from the start of the Site C Project, BC Hydro committed to mitigating its effects on community infrastructure and further committed to replacing the district’s water treatment system should the reservoir negatively impact the water supply. 

When the district decided to change its water system in 2019, BC Hydro took responsibility for the costs of the new water treatment plant. 

“BC Hydro’s obligation was to fund the construction of the plant, which was just under $5 million. Since then, we’ve appreciated that the system that was built didn’t perform as originally designed, and recognize it’s created challenges for the community.” 

Alexis also explained that the utility provided $1 million to the district during the emergency response in 2022 when the system failed.

“We feel we’ve met our financial obligations under the agreement, but we have made a significant offer of additional support towards a permanent plant,” Alexis said.

Alexis confirmed that this offer of support is not conditional on the results of the October vote in Hudson’s Hope and that the negotiations are separate from the vote itself.

“We’re going to keep talking. We want to try and figure out a way that we can resolve this issue and work collaboratively with the district.”