It’s all about the water for a group concerned about the current Garibaldi at Squamish proposal.
Members of the Paradise Valley Community Association submitted a letter to the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) on their objections to how water will be drawn to support the proposed year-round ski resort slated for Brohm Ridge.
In the four-page submission, the group outlines its concerns over the resort planning to draw water from the aquifer located at the base of Cheakamus River Valley. The aquifer is the only water source for Paradise Valley residents, farms and businesses, the submission states.
The association members are concerned there has not been enough testing and research on aquifer capacity.
“All key scientific studies to date recommended by government and other aquifer experts have not been completed,” reads the letter. The group calls on the government to insist on thorough scientific studies before allowing the project to proceed.
Other concerns include a lack of planned water conservation measures and a lack of consultation with valley residents by the resort proponents and government agencies.
For each of its concerns, the group proposes a way the concern could be mitigated by the proponent.
Limiting resort wells to 65 feet and all other well depths to 70 feet could help solve the worry over water conservation, according to the letter.
“While some may oppose the overall project, most opposition in our valley is not to the project, but to the lack of knowledge about the aquifer and impact of the proposed enormous permanent draws on the aquifer and environments,” states the association in the letter to the EA.
“The woefully inadequate basis to make a prudent decision about such an important resource as ground water primarily drives our opposition.”
Mayor Patricia Heintzman, who lives in Paradise Valley, said the question of the water is a concern for her too.
“You look at Washington State and the water shortages they are having there or you look at California, I suspect Oregon is well on the way, who knows what is going to happen in southern B.C. in the near future,” she said. “I saw some modeling at the Renewable Cities conference that showed the reduction in snow pack over the next 20 to 25 years on the North Shore mountains, and you can make that assumption it is going to be the same [here].
“It is a dramatic reduction in snow pack and how is that going to factor into the recharging of our aquifers?”
For this supplemental application, the Garibaldi at Squamish proponents changed the way water will be drawn. The former application had surface water drawn from the Brohm River system. The change means reduced risk of impacts to fish habitat, according to a letter to The Squamish Chief from David Negrin, CEO of Garibaldi at Squamish Inc.
“We will continue to work with the Paradise Valley residents to ensure their current water supply is unaffected by the development of the proposed resort groundwater water supply,” Negrin said in the letter.
The public comment period on the Garibaldi at Squamish proposal is open until June 22.
To comment on Garibaldi at Squamish to the EAO, contact Chris Hamilton, executive project director, Environmental Assessment Office PO Box 9426 Stn. Prov. Govt., Victoria B.C. V8W 9V1; fax 250-387-2208.
