Letter by Peter Dixon to the Sooke News Mirror, July 16, 2003

Editor:

Sooke municipality is joyous now that it will receive $11.6 million funded under the Canada-British Columbia Infrastructure Program. The program's first priority is "green" local government infrastructure. The funding is meant to encourage the use of 21st century technologies, new approaches and best practices.

The timing is perfect. The opportunity to be innovative is at hand.

It is now a well known fact that the water supply from the Sooke Lake reservoir is limited.

Not having a sewer system in place, Sooke is in the unique position for a municipality to install an alternate system that addresses the immediate issue of handling its sewage and at the same time reduce water consumption.

It can be done by installing a treatment plant and distribution system designed to reclaim used water for reuse and recycling. The benefits are a reduction in wastewater flows and overall consumption.

It is legal and accepted for industrial, commercial, and institutional applications if the system complies with the Municipal Sewage Regulation (MSR) and building codes.

Imagine this. Start by installing a treatment and collection system designed for water reuse for the core area. Then in the future expand to other outlying areas. Subdivisions are ideal for a small treatment system to serve a variety of water needs. This is planning for a "green" future.

Currently, the Ministry of Health has not yet accepted individual homeowners to recycle water but pilot projects for that specific application are now being monitored favourably by the ministry. It is only a matter of time when it will be accepted.

The older municipalities in the Greater Victoria Area are faced with crumbling sewage infrastructures and are stressed to finance repairs. Victoria is criticized for sending raw sewage out into the Juan de Fuca Strait. Sooke can avoid that bad press by not following the same path as Victoria. I think tourists would look favourably on Sooke if it took a "green" approach.

It's a golden opportunity for Sooke to take leadership by implementing modern 21st "green" technologies reflecting forward new thinking. That's what the funding encourages. It could be a model municipality on how it dealt with sewage problems not done by others in British Columbia.

Bring this to the attention of the Sooke council and your MLA, Brian Kerr.