Capital Regional District approves $2B, 30-year water supply master plan

CRD mulls $2B infrastructure plan The Capital Regional District is reviewing a $2-billion, 30-year plan into maintaining its water supply and preparing for climate change.

The Capital Regional District (CRD) Board has greenlit an overarching plan for the community's water supply infrastructure over the next 30 years.

The roughly $2-billion plan was designed to account for growing population, necessary water treatment equipment, and the effects of climate change.

The plan will be reassessed on a "five-to-10-year cycle," which could result in adjustments depending on data collected in the years to come.

The regional district says it also plans to hold public engagements throughout the 30-year period of the master plan.

21 MAJOR PROJECTS

The CRD's 2022 Regional Water Supply Master Plan builds off of a regional water supply plan that was adopted in 2017, which recommended 21 major infrastructure projects.

Some of those projects include a second deep intake in the Sooke Lake Reservoir, and a diversion of water in Leech River to the Sooke Lake and Deception Gulf reservoirs to supplement existing water supplies.

The most expensive project in the master plan is a roughly $1-billion water filtration plant north of the Goldstream Disinfection Facility.

The filtration plant will be the first one in the region, and the CRD says it will be necessary for when more water is diverted to existing reservoirs, and in case of extreme weather events.

"This plan outlines our vision to ensure continued delivery of high quality, clean, and sustainable drinking water for the next 30 years, a significant asset for our region," said CRD board chair Colin Plant in a statement Wednesday.

The CRD Regional Water Supply System currently serves 400,000 people living in Greater Victoria.

The region's population is predicted to grow by another 170,000 people by 2050.

The master plan's $2-billion budget accounts for inflation for around the time of each project's completion, according to the CRD.

With files from CTV News Vancouver Island's Brendan Strain