Dear editor,
Last week’s letter by SA van Hoof made many good points but any plans to locate a collection pipe in the foreshore are probably long gone. After recent discussions with CVRD and SSP personnel I believe the following to be more true.
A foreshore location a couple metres below property lines may have been considered initially (even as the best option) but quickly dropped due mainly to lack of stomach (or other anatomy) to confront the fellow bureaucracies who might resist it, from DFO to the Sierra Club and everyone in between.
In the big picture this option was likely the most cost-efficient and least disruptive to public or private land. Along Kilmarnock every property would gravity-drain to the collector pipe where a single (?) CVRD/SSP pump system would move sewage to the treatment plant. Logically, this system would have emergency back-up power in case of an electric outage.
A second similar option was considered, mainly just moving the pipe a couple metres inside private property lines but retaining all the benefits of gravity drain. It appears blowback from a few property owners who wanted no part of their land disturbed and more lack of the anatomical fortitude mentioned above scuttled this plan, possibly the second favourite.
This leaves us with the current plan which is to put the pipe in a ditch along a yet undetermined side of Kilmarnock. The ditch would be fairly shallow at the north and south ends but up to eight metres deep near the Montrose pump station. In this scenario the collector would still be gravity along with all homes on the west side of Kilmarnock gravity also, while those on the east (water) side would have to pump up to the pipe at their expense. There is some talk of having maybe the pump itself subsidized by the project. Again, the SSP system would have emergency back-up but homeowners would have to protect themselves, unlike a gravity system.
Whatever comes about, imagine trying to negotiate with some very busy companies to disable the septic and connect to the new system – hold on to your wallet.
Lastly let’s not forget that we’re at this point due almost entirely to VIHA and CVRD’s neglect of the problem for many years yet now they are asking for around $60 million to stay in “control”. Please vote your conscience since I and many, many other ineligible owners/taxpayers are denied a say in this very expensive issue.
Al Schwerman
Kilmarnock Dr.