Boil-water advisories are the prime target of a $125-million water-treatment plant announced Wednesday at the K’omoks First Nation offices.
Courtenay-Comox MLA Ronna Rae Leonard said the plant is needed to serve the Comox Valley’s 45,000 people “who turn on their taps every day and expect to be able to drink the water.”
Included will be new intake mechanisms, pumping stations, and both force and transmission mains — along with an educational area for the public.
“There’s a turbidity issue with Comox Lake that happens when we have big storm events,” Leonard said.
“We’ve had a number of boil-water advisories and it’s time to fix that problem for the people of Courtenay and Comox, and those who drink the water from Comox Lake.”
Turbidity, which shows up as discolouring in water, can create health problems, Leonard said, and boil-water advisories are more than an inconvenience.
“First of all people have to be notified about it, which is always a challenge,” she said. “It’s truly about making a system that people can rely on and they’ve been waiting a long time.”
She recalled a boil-water advisory a few winters ago that was 90 to 100 days long.
About 50 per cent of the project’s cost will be covered by the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, which sees B.C. share the cost with the federal government, local government and other partners.
That includes $28.6 million from the province — $7.5 million of it for the K’omoks First Nation — and $34.3 million in federal money. The Comox Valley Regional District is putting in $54.9 million.
The K’omoks First Nation portion will see the installation of distribution pipes to service a piece of land.
Work on the project will start in spring 2019 and should be complete by late 2020 or early 2021.
