Eight sites, including Clover Point and the University of Victoria, are considered to have a high level of public support for at least a secondary sewage-treatment plant, according to results of a public consultation.
Victoria, Saanich and Oak Bay are in the midst of deciding where to build a sewage-treatment plant with the hope of narrowing down sites by the end of this month.
Based on public feedback involving about 2,000 people, 47 sites were narrowed to 27.
Of the 27, eight had a “high level of support with mild dissent,” the consultation found.
Twenty sites have been highlighted in red, indicating they drew a “high level of concern with little to no support.”
“The red sites are gone as of tonight,” said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps during a Wednesday meeting at Belfry Theatre.
Rejected sites are mostly parks such as Beacon Hill and Holland in Victoria, Henderson and Carnarvon in Oak Bay, and Cuthbert Holmes in Saanich.
The eight top-ranked sites are: four spots in the Rock Bay area, including a public works yard, sites owned by B.C. Hydro and Transport Canada, and privately owned land; coast guard land beside Ogden Point; Clover Point; the University of Victoria; and the Saanich public works yard.
“We haven’t taken anything off the table except the red-lighted sites,” Helps said.
“We have the public opinion and now we will map over that with technical feasibility and some engineering expertise to see what stays.”
Public consultation will continue June 24 to about July 10.
A group representing Esquimalt, Colwood, Langford, View Royal and the Songhees First Nation is reviewing plant sites for their region but have not revealed any contenders.
