WATER and the cost of obtaining potable water was the focus of a town hall meeting last week hosted by the District of Lantzville on Thursday.
The meeting at Costin Hall provided residents with the history of the district’s water system, as well as information about the well rehabilitation in the Lantzville-Nanaimo water agreement.
At the moment, a number of residents remain on a well water system and do not have potable water. According to the district, more than 200 properties are not connected to a municipal source of water.
During the meeting, Lantzville district staff presented a scenario to residents based on no development and no grants for the Winds neighbourhood. The scenario, based on a 2015 Koers Engineering report on water supply, showed that a municipal water connection would cost the district roughly $36,000 per resident.
As a result, the cost was a major talking point for a number of residents who expressed their concerns during the public participation portion of the town hall.
In order to bring costs down, the district has numerous options, which include turning to development and applying for provincial and federal grants.
In speaking to the News Bulletin afterwards, Mayor Colin Haime said he was pleased with how the town hall went, adding that residents seemed to express a strong desire for having water go to existing residents over new developments.
“Talking to the residents one-on-one they would certainly like the City [of Nanaimo] to co-operate with regards to the tweaking of that agreement so that it can go to existing residents,” he said.
The district plans to use the information to develop its water master plan.