PRRD explores potable water accessibility in electoral areas

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Regional district staff have been given the green light to start researching expansions to potable water accessibility in three of the district’s four electoral areas. 

During the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) board meeting at the Pomeroy Hotel and Conference Centre on December 5th, the directors reviewed a lengthy report outlining possible future water functions across the region. 

The report included six recommendations related to water services, ranging from a report of work conducted on sewer systems across the district to the creation of potable water services in Electoral Area C, Area D and Area E. 

The first recommendation of six had the board receiving a ‘scope of work’ report and approving reports related to work completed by PBX Engineering. The reports will be used in upcoming capital financial planning for sewer functions in Charlie Lake, Chilton, Kelly Lake, Rolla and the Harper Imperial subdivision in Electoral Area D. 

The second recommendation detailed the investigation of creating a potable water service in Electoral Area C, alongside all the necessary service establishment bylaws and supporting documents. 

These would include a financial plan, operating budget, capital budget, tax impacts, assessment breakdown, cost recovery, requisition limit, the selection method for the location with resident approval and other background information. 

The directors questioned the capacity of staff to take this project on considering the upcoming 2026 municipal election.

Dan Rose, the director for Electoral Area E, stated he felt the project would be “biting off too much.” 

Darryl Krakowka, the director and mayor of the District of Tumbler Ridge, agreed with Rose, and questioned if the timing would lead to the district doing the project an “injustice” by overwhelming staff and not providing them with an increased budget for labour costs. 

Staff explained the district maintains a financial reserve in between election years that staff utilize for expenses over and above the budget that are absorbed by the district. 

Lilia Hansen, the director and mayor of the City of Fort St. John, expressed her support for the recommendation, drawing on her experiences of closing a local bulk water station for three weeks for parking lot repairs in 2024.

“I do understand the complexity when it comes to the finances, but when it comes to potable water, even [having] redundancy [in water access] is so important,” Hansen said. 

“When we were trying to do a simple repair in a parking lot to fill potholes and the anguish that caused in our surrounding rural area and neighbours…I think having potable water service is something that is not a ‘nice to have,’ it’s a ‘need to have.’”

The third and fourth recommendations outlined approvals for the research and creation of similar service bylaws for potable water services in Electoral Area D and Area E for consideration of the board.

The fifth and sixth recommendations approved staff researching bylaws for plant harvesting services in Swan Lake and Charlie Lake, to keep them clean. The bylaws will be brought back to the regional board for consideration and approval at a later date. 

All the recommendations were passed by the board, with staff intending to return to the board with bylaws and plans in a future board meeting.