Water supply, demand and infrastructure
My passion for water has been evidenced over decades by my involvement in water protection and education through multiple municipalities, levels of government and direct actions.
The glacier fed Harrison Lake is what brought us here and Harrison is wonderfully unique compared to other neighbouring municipalities. We have a gold standard location but it comes with specialized needs and requirements.
This is an important priority for our village. The interconnection between these 3 facets of Supply, Demand and Infrastructure weave between environment, economics, and governance.
Fresh clean water for the village is dependent on the natural systems such as snow, ice and rain. It is up to us to be proper stewards of our resource. I cannot express enough the importance of safe clean drinking water for our community. Our water infrastructure is vitally important in this day and age where a changing climate is having a huge impact on water resources.
Upgrades and upkeep are a natural part of infrastructure. In our village our infrastructure capacity is dependent on population growth, tourist population influx, and the health of our ecosystem. Rapid rates of growth in the community mean upgrade points are reached much quicker. For this reason responsible management of population growth is vital. This keeps our infrastructure upkeep on a proper timeline and budget. When looking at capacities, it is important to look at all the information and data available. Let’s not look at averages alone when analyzing data. We are a tourist town and capacity needs to be robust enough to handle the tourist peak season numbers and also the resident population.
The concept of tying into other municipalities waste water systems had been looked at in the past. It was found to be cost prohibitive for our community, not to mention the logistics involved. We also have to factor in that connecting with another municipality; we would lose control over the management of one of our most important pieces of infrastructure for our residents. This is where the importance of looking at all angles and directions is necessary in coming up with good decision making.
My philosophies are having a plan and a back-up plan. In this case, this refers to water reservoir storage and wastewater treatment that can handle dry seasons, which most often coincide with the tourist season. It refers to the preparedness and handling of extreme weather events such as flooding, where overflow can end up in our wastewater system, and also the lowering lake levels we have been experiencing.
Harrison Hot Springs uniqueness requires a Harrison Hot Springs approach.
