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Chair: |
Mary Cooper |
Vice Chair: |
Bill Warning |
| Secretary: |
Marie Elliott |
Treasurer: |
Diane Plucinak |
Director: |
Bill Maylone |
Past Chair:
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Ev McKay |
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MAYNE ISLAND INTEGRATED
WATER SYSTEMS SOCIETY
MIIWSS WATER WORKSHOPS –
PAST
2005:
‘Source to Tap’ Water Workshop,
Saturday, April 30 at the MI School Gym
Registration: $15.00 lunch included
No official report produced
ATTENDANCE: 130
Click on photos to enlarge
Speakers:
Replies to Workshop Questionnaire: 33 Responses:
-17 Private well owners
-16 water systems (Trustees & staff)
Question: Would they benefit from belonging to MIIWSS:
- Yes: 10
- Maybe: 1
- Don’t Know: 1
More workshops: Yes: 33
What interests for future workshops:-
Private:-
-Water treatment -de-salinization
-forthcoming legislation -septic maintenance
-rainwater collection -speakers form more islands
-grey water re-use regular well maintenance - -speakers
from WALP -assessing quality & quantity
-well disinfection -pump maintenance
Systems:
-Water catchment -Greywater for households
- valves, pipes etc., info -course requirements &certification
maintenance
-liability issues -regulation updates
-new technology -system info exchanges, problems and solutions
Address by Workshop Chair, Mary Cooper
My husband & I are 13 year residents of this small
piece of paradise. I am not a water expert, although I
have been called the water witch, occasionally misspelled.
Until recently, I was chair of the Bennett Bay waterworks
District for 3 years. I simply have a huge interest in
water and the issues facing us all.
There are 11 organized water systems on Mayne. MIIWSS
was founded by Ed Williams in the late “70s with
a view to open up inter-district informational exchanges
and, at that time, lead an effort to interconnect all
water systems across Mayne. MIIWSS lingered on in varying
stages of activity, and the expense of the latter project
defeated the idea.
I would like to tell you a bit about my district. Bennett
Bay Waterworks District has held Letters Patent as an
Improvement District since 1967, with a rotating board
of 3 Trustees. There are 151 lots, with 127 connections,
potential build out is 22. There are 3 active wells, 2
of the 1985/86 era with depths of 250-275 ft, one as new
as 2 months ago. The new well was drilled to 340 ft.
In that area of the island, salinity is higher than preferred.
The 2 older wells are blended, chlorinated and pumped
up to 2 storage tanks with a capacity of 65,000 gallons,
or an 8 day usable winter supply, or 5 day usable summer
supply. . That is based on 6500 gpd off season consumption
and 12,000 gpd high season. VIHA prefers a 3 day rollover.
The system is gravity fed. Since the new well is located
better than halfway into the system , we chose to direct
inject into a 3" main, 3 gpm 24 hrs a day,7 days
a week, and have back up to storage in the low consumption
hours of midnight to 6 a.m. We opted to double treat the
new well water, using chlorination and UV in tandem. We
are happy with the results as it has allowed us to vastly
reduce the chlorine content in our drinking water. We
have 1 part time certified operator and 1 part time certified
maintenance person.
Drilling this well was a 2 year adventure I’m very
happy to call history.
The big thing about this district is, that in the13 years
we have lived there, the Trustees have been highly conservation
motivated. A $50 rebate for any low flush toilet installation
was standard, and the past 3 years we have doubled that
to $100. Every user is metered and every installation
has a backflow preventer installed by the district. Meters
are used primarily for leak control and sometimes for
over consumption control. Up until this year, we had a
set installation fee, but because of the unknown and rising
cost of road crossings, we have gone to a user pay.
We set up an e-mail list with 97 stakeholders, allowing
us to keep them posted on drought conditions, maintenance
and emergencies. It also lets them keep in touch with
the board before an issue builds. In general, it has added
awareness of the water district year round as opposed
to the day they receive their water bill. Our consumption
went down by 400 gpd this past year. I think the telling
tale is that we only had 6 stakeholders at the AGM
Mayne Island is totally in tune with other Gulf Islands
in what they are facing with water issues and the make
up of the aquifers. We have lots of water in some areas,
and very little in others. We have artesian and we have
high salinity. The crux of the question is what are we
going to do about husbanding this finite resource for
the future. With responsibilities so widely shared, and
opinions so varied, no one is in control of the overall
ground and surface water supplies management on any of
the islands. The governments are flagging far behind the
citizens in facing this issue.
We all count on the common sense of our neighbours. The
majority of the users on most islands are independent
of organized systems. These are also the very people who
have less ability to access the information they need
for good well management. Of course, the ultimate penalty
for carelessness is a dry well. But there are many who
feel if they don't get what they want from an organized
system, or want more water without changing their habits,
they can simply drill another well.
We have the option to be good stewards of water. We can
push to require more rainwater collection systems installed
and maybe encompassed within the building code. I was
encouraged to have John Moore tell me that he can't keep
up to the demand for storage tanks. We can install water
saving devices on everything, including your grandkids
when they visit! We can practice sere gardening and enjoy
our brown weeds.
We are all, in these islands, facing increasing growth
and development pressures, raising concerns about sustainability
of many things, water being only one. But without water,
and a reliable potable supply, all other issues become
academic. So I guess the theme should be “ use---
but don't abuse”.
Thank you
Click on images to enlarge
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