Minister rejects change to B.C. provincial park for water infrastructure project
Sunshine Coast Regional District proposed piping be installed in Chapman Lake for district's water supply
George Heyman, B.C.'s minister of environment and climate change strategy, has rejected a proposal to change the boundary of a provincial park on the Sunshine Coast for a water infrastructure project.
The infrastructure project, proposed by the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD), would install permanent piping into Chapman Lake located in Tetrahedron Provincial Park, and increase the allowable intake of water from the lake.
For the development to go through, it was required to either entirely remove Chapman Lake from the boundaries of the park, or remove the park's Class A protected status.
In a release explaining its decision, the Ministry said most respondents were opposed to a boundary adjustment or park re-designation.
"The SCRD is encouraged to continue researching alternative solutions beyond the use of Chapman Lake that will improve the existing water supply system," the Ministry said.
The district has used Chapman Lake as its primary water source since long before the provincial park was established in 1995. But two droughts in the summer of 2015 and 2017 pushed the region into Stage 4 water restrictions, forcing the district to reassess its water supply, including how much water it draws out of Chapman Lake.
Opponents of the water pipeline have suggested the creation of a new reservoir to store water as a solution to the region's water shortage issues.