We had 42 homeowners meeting with your trustees and staff on the afternoon of September 20th, at the Adachi pavilion. David Birch (our new administrator) took notes, which we published here for the benefits of resident who could not attend. Michael Jones and Don Barthel, trustees, announced some staff changes, gave presentations on the current state of the district, and its future, operationally and financially, and answered many questions from home owners.
Staff changes
- David Birch is our new administrator. He is replacing Moira McCulloch who’s retiring after 6 ½ years of service with VPID.
- Ian Cocker is transitioning into a role of Advisor to VPID after 10 years of service to VPID, and as we are building plans for new Operations Manager
- Sean Burkholder is welcome to the team as assistant technician.
CURRENT SITUATION
This was a challenging year for VPID. A series of untimely leaks in early summer significantly depleted our water storage resulting in water deliveries and rotational shut offs.
- There have not been any leaks found since mid-July.
- In addition to the early summer leaks, our Well 19 pump failed; it has now been replaced.
- 2 separate road crossing pipelines have been repaired due to under road leaks (Leighton, Spinnaker).
- A separate sewer leak was identified on Spinnaker and has been repaired.
In summary, all wells are now operating to expectations, sewer is operating as it should, and we are currently at full storage capacity.
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
Financial Summary:
There are 2 large loans which were taken out approximately 10 years ago for sewer and water infrastructure. The balances for both loans are now below $100,000 and should be paid by the end of 2027.
Once the loans are paid off, taxes collected will be used to build up capital reserves to help pay for new infrastructure moving forward.
Although the operating costs in the current year are more than expected, there has been improvement compared to 2024.
In planning for our 2026 budget, the Trustees are considering adding a line item to budget for water deliveries of approximately 10 trucks per year.
Operational Summary:
The biggest challenge faced by operations is leak detection. There are 2 main types of leaks, emergency catastrophic leaks and moderate leaks.
An example of each could be water mains vs. water lines on homeowner property; however sometimes major leaks are on homeowner properties, and sometimes minor leaks occur on the main line, such as a leaky valve. The loss of water can actually be higher for moderate leaks because they can go undetected for a longer period.
Overnight monitoring of flows aids leak detection because there is typically little to no water flow during these hours of there are no leaks; however nighttime leak detection can difficult for the staff. New techniques for overnight water monitoring are assisting in leak detection; we are now able to record the outflow meter on a camera and analyze the “middle of the night” data the following morning. Also, partial shut offs combined with monitoring outflows helps to isolate locations where leaks may be present.
The trustees are considering the acquisition of more sensitive leak detection equipment, similar to that used by the professional leak detector we have called upon a couple of times recently.
The Board of Trustees are working with the MIWSS (Mayne Island Water Systems Society) in the hopes of jointly purchasing and sharing the leak detection equipment with other districts, or acquiring the equipment and operational expertise ourselves and loaning it to other districts for a fee. We believe that despite the high initial cost (over $5,000) there could be considerable cost savings and return on investment. A visit from a professional leak detection expert costs between $2500 and $6000 per visit, depending on the circumstances.
We have also had recent success using the addition of dye to a sewer line to detect a leak location.
The Trustees are considering adding more water storage tanks at the treatment plant. We did add two 5,000 gallon tanks last year, which are being used as “pre-storage” prior to the treatment process. Additional tanks would increase our overall storage but also in the long run replace our oldest existing tanks which are over 40 years old.
QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION
Q – Are there remote readable flow meters available?
VPID did apply for a Government Grant for remotely readable water meters throughout the district, but we were unsuccessful in our bid due to high competition.
The trustees believe that the long term solution is to have household water meters; in the short term we are considering installing water meters on suspected high use properties.
Q – What is our water storage capacity?
Our water storage totals 88,000 US Gallons or 70,000 Imperial Gallons.
Essentially, we have approximately 4 days of storage in the busy season as we use approximately 20,000 gallons per day.
Q – What is the cost for a truck delivery of water?
The cost of a water delivery is $1,300 and in volume is 3,800 US Gallons.
Q – What is the water storage level requirement for the Fire Department?
When the water storage levels drop below 30%, we must notify the Fire Department.
Q – How many water hook ups are there in the VPID District?
There are approximately 260 water hook ups, 240 are connected. The maximum capacity is 275 being the number of lots in the VPID District.
Q – Are we doing modelling for climate change? Homeowner discussed topics such as risk areas, 3D layer maps, free tolls available for VPID. Is there an opportunity for VPID to hire a consultant to look at these issues?
Islands Trust is currently working on modeling Southern Gulf Islands water supply. Although this is useful information, it is not precise to provide specific information for our district. Possibly this is a topic for discussion with the Mayne Island Water Systems Society.
Our main issues this summer arose from problems with to infrastructure. We had significant leaks and a well pump failure. We do not believe our water shortages were a result of a low actual supply of water in our aquifers.
Q – What modelling has there been done on infrastructure and depreciation?
Trustees are currently looking at modelling what our capital replacement costs will be for infrastructure assuming a 40-year average asset lifetime. This is different than looking at an engineering model to view wear and tear. There have been replacements piece by piece over the years. The Treatment Plant is only 10 years old, but there are old water lines up to 60 years old, although large sections (Leighton, Lundy, Spinnaker) were replaced in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Valves are sometimes problematic at connections where pipes come off the main lines and splits into 2 properties (called Corporation Stops). There are many Corp Stops, 1 for every 2 properties in the district; we have been replacing them as problems have been identified due to leaks.
Q – Would there be value in residents putting in their own meters? What is the cost associated with this?
For the entire district, we estimates the cost of installing meters would be $500,000. The trustees will be seriously discussing this in the future, likely leading to a new vote on water meters. We expect that more residents will be in favour in the future given the problems we have encountered in the past 2 years. Meters would assist VPID in understanding water use patterns and to better identify leaks.
A homeowner suggested that we host an open house with residents prior the vote, so that questions can be addressed and voters will be well-informed.
The results of the last vote was approximately 60% against and 40% in favour.
Q – What is the ratio of leaks in private vs. public lines?
The ratio is approximately 50%/50%. Main leaks are often found quickly, however smaller leaks on homeowners’ properties can go on for an extended period before discovered as they are harder to detect.
Q – Are there any meters on water lines and bylines? Is there a cheaper option for water meters?
There are various zone meters and valves within the district. More would be better to more precisely isolate leaks. Partial shut offs have helped us isolate sections for possible leaks and eliminate areas of the district when looking for leaks. More research would need to be done on low end meters and if they would suit the needs of VPID.
Q – Do other water districts on the island have meters?
We believe all other districts have water meters but with old technology that requires manual meter reading.
Q – Can we have staff read the meters? Would homeowners need to assist in meter reporting?
For leak detection, we need immediate readings, and new technology (remote sensing) is what would be required. Another option would be to have volunteers read and report on the meters but this is not discussed at the open house.
As part of the discussion of household meters, the trustees will consider options for pricing of water tolls related to use. Much of the operational costs of the water system are not related to consumption, so a simple fee per gallon used would not make sense. On the other hand, we might consider a surcharge for water use above a threshold considered “reasonable use”.
Q – Why can homeowners not use a pressure washer off season?
The pressure washing policy has changed for non water restriction months – it is permitted at these times. This has been updated on our website. New low-flow pressure washers are now available and are recommended.
Q – Why is there a small section that didn’t get any water either day of the shut offs?
Higher elevation properties lose their water sooner during a shut-off, and take longer to get pressure back when the water is restored (as the main pipes re-fill). There is no way to avoid this, unfortunately.
Q – Could an earlier time be set for water to be turned back on during rotational shut offs for preparing dinner such as 4pm?
If there are future water shut offs, we will look at the timeframes needed to restore water levels and adjust if we can. After a shut off, very large consumption of water sometimes takes place as the lines re-fill and homeowners start using water. After a few days of repeated shut-offs consumption was less, and it took less time for water pressure to be restored.
Q- Is there an increase in consumption over the last 10 years?
There has not been an upward trend in water use over the past decade. We collectively use approximately 6,000,000 gallons per year. We are consuming less water now than we did in 2009.
Q- Why are we waiting for valves and curb stops to fail? Should we be proactive and replace them?
Many of these valves are under ground. Some valves, including zone valves, have been replaced. VPID has a record keeping system to track what has been done and when. There is also discussion about using Parcel Map BC. We have kept a record for the past 10 years of repairs and maintenance. The goal is to, in the future, transfer our paper records and make them digital.
Q – What happens to our water when the power goes out?
The well pumps do not operate when the power is out, however the system is gravity fed, and we typically have ample water storage during times in the slower months when power is typically out for longer periods of time.
Q – When is VPID planning to ask homeowners for more money?
The 2 current loans for water and sewage are expected to be paid in full in 2027. At that time, capital reserves will increase, and a new capital strategy is being planned. Over the next year, questions will come up about our infrastructure and we can start planning some significant improvements. If we borrow, VPID may not have to request increases, provided that the loan payments are similar to existing loan payments. There is no special levy planned at this time.
Q- What is the long-term resilience strategy for VPID?
The VPID Board is planning to build capital reserves to finance infrastructure replacement once our two existing loans have been paid. During the fall and winter of 2025-26 we will examine options for capital planning and expect to present
First, production varies between about 5 million and 6.5 million gallons per year – this variation is primarily due to comparable variation in water use. In other words we pump what we need to meet demand; when demand is low, such as in winter, we pump less. Note that we think the unusually high value in 2023 is incorrect. Well production in 2023 was probably closer to 6.5 million gallons.