Quesnel City Council has an in-camera meeting scheduled for tonight that will be focus on water treatment.
Mayor Bob Simpson…
“Because it’s a new service we’re required under the Act to be able to have the conversations of options, opportunities, costs, all in-camera. And it’s stimulated around Health Canada changing the Manganese regulations, so as a consequence we’re looking at the full range of potential options for water treatment that deals with Manganese.”
Simpson says they hope to get a report in front of the public soon…
“In this case because it’s a pretty technical report the options are pretty broad ranging and have significant implications, it’s hard for me to project when Council’s options that we’re willing to explore will come out of the in-camera process. But certainly we’ll have to expedite getting something in front of the public as soon as possible.”
Simpson says he’s not at liberty to say how many options they will be looking at, but he says they asked the consultants to look at everything…
“From single residential at tap options to full systems options and there are quite a wide variety there, including chlorination, not chlorination, including some of the new options, reverse osmosis, UV.”
Simpson says whatever options they decide to explore, they will be subjected to some form of public consultation.
He says they will likely need federal funding no matter which direction they go.
In terms of timing, Simpson says it is a bit of a balancing act…
“We’re not alone in this. I know Williams Lake is trying to move expeditiously. We’re all looking to the Federal Government as to whether or not they’re going to open up grant opportunities. So we have to move quickly enough to have shovel ready projects should grant opportunities become available, but not so quickly that we chose the wrong option, and not so quickly that we don’t engage the public in an appropriate manner.”
Simpson says whatever option they chose it will likely have pretty significant cost implications, including the possibility of having to go to referendum to borrow some money.