Dawson Creek to move forward with next steps for new water source project

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — The City of Dawson Creek will be moving forward with the next steps in its project to secure a reliable water source for the community. 

The city has been working toward securing a new water source due to years of drought in the Kiskatinaw River, its only source of water. 

According to a post uploaded to the City of Dawson Creek’s website, it will be undertaking a more detailed technical work and engagement to “determine the best source of new water, how much water is needed and the most effective way to deliver it to Dawson Creek.” 

This comes after the city expanded the team working on this Water Supply System Project to address comments and inquiries which arose in the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office’s early engagement process. 

It wrote the detailed technical work will build on that engagement work, which it said confirmed the urgency of the issue and identified areas of the project that need more investigation. 

The technical assessment will help identify the amount of water the community will need in the future, potential water sources, required water treatment processes, potential routes and infrastructure, and the cost and challenges associated with each option. 

In addition to this, the team will also engage with Indigenous communities, government and regulatory agencies, industry and residents during this process to ensure it understands the various needs and requirements before selecting a water source, the post said. 

Devon Aaroe, general manager of major infrastructure and development for the City of Dawson Creek, said: “By better understanding how much water we need, where we can source the water from and the costs and challenges of each option, we can choose the best path forward for our community’s future.”

This work has been split into four phases: 

• Phase one: Preliminary research and planning 
• Phase two: Detailed studies and analysis 
• Phase three: Source evaluation 
• Phase four: Implementation Planning 

In addition to this, the post provided a status of the Temporary Emergency Overland Water Transfer System, which saw the city propose to lay pipes along the highway to pump water from the Peace River as a temporary solution if the Kiskatinaw River ever ran completely dry.

The technical work for this is progressing so the system can be deployed quickly if needed. 

Last year, at its lowest point, Dawson Creek only had 150 days of water supply left in its reservoirs.

The city said it will share updates as the technical work progresses.