Two properties were flooded Tuesday, July 15 after a serious break in the water main just north of the Lagoon bridge on Chemainus Road.
Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) Area G (Saltair/Gulf Islands) director Mel Dorey says the CVRD repaired the break, which occurred late in the afternoon of July 15, and paved the road in about four hours.
“Saltair’s water system is 60 years old and in need of serious upgrades,” he said in an e-mail. “Two years ago, the water breaks amounted to about $100,000 per year in repairs. The residents and the CVRD realized that something very substantial had to done to fix the problem.”
The community formed a committee to canvass door to door, petitioning taxpayers to raise the parcel tax by $358 to start a 15-year program of upgrades at $300,000 per year, explained Dorey.
“Residents were very supportive of this program,” he said. “The program is in the second year of re-doing the most troublesome water lines. To date, a lot of money has been saved in preventing water breaks. Unfortunately this recent break ruined the record of zero breaks since the upgrades began.”