The Bowen Island Municipality-run Tunstall Bay Water System is poised to get a new treated water reservoir tank but the project will dig into residents’ pocket books.
The (estimated) $620,000 five-year loan spread out over the water system’s 135 properties would come out to $950 a year per household, said a BIM alert.
The water system’s local advisory committee has requested the new tank for more water storage and for sufficient water flow for fire protection.
BIM is recommending borrowing the funds for a 595 cubic metre, glass fused bolted steel tank to be placed beside the existing reservoir tank.
(The borrowing can happen through a short-term equipment financing loan, so it doesn’t need to get elector approval, just council approval.)
The water system does have $270,000 in capital reserves but that’s below what should be in place for maintenance and replacement, said the alert.
The existing tank – apparently built in the 1980s – doesn’t look pretty but it’s still usable, said BIM’s director of engineering Patrick Graham. They’re not planning on decommissioning it.
The new tank, about two and a half times the size of its predecessor, would “increase the water supply buffer resulting in a more resilient water system,” said the news alert.
Tender for the project closes in mid-September.
The local advisory committee is meeting to discuss the financing of the tank Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. over Zoom.
Find more information at bimbc.ca.
