Cumberland council have directed staff to move forward with banning the bottling of water in the Village.
Currently, there is no restriction on bottling in the Village of Cumberland, the Town of Comox nor the City of Courtenay, however, the Village is the first to make a move towards a ban.
At Monday’s council meeting, Ken Rogers, manager of development services, presented a report outlining what implementing a water bottling ban would look like for the Village.
After a brief discussion, council directed staff to bring forward an amendment to the zoning bylaw to prohibit water bottling in all zones.
Sundance Topham, chief administrative officer with the Village, says a zoning bylaw amendment will likely be brought forward to council in February or March of the new year. Public consultation will be included in this process.
Mayor Leslie Baird says she fully supports council’s decision to pursue this ban.
“I think it’s an excellent idea. We need to be looking at protecting our water sources,” she said. “The water is there for everybody and we need to look after all our residents and our communities and make sure they have enough water to live daily.”