Utilities

ALTERNATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS (AAP)

Loan Authorization Bylaw (WWTP) 1158, 2021

The District of Lake Country (the “District”) wishes to proceed with Loan Authorization Bylaw (WWTP) 1158, 2021, which authorizes the borrowing of up to eight million, eight hundred forty thousand dollars ($8,840,000) to  undertake the Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase 4 Upgrade.

Loan Authorization Bylaw (WWTP) 1158, 2021 is available for public inspection at the Municipal Hall, 10150 Bottom Wood Lake Road, Lake Country, BC during regular office hours – 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding statutory holidays.

THE PROJECT

The Wastewater Treatment Plant (“WWTP”) Phase 4 Upgrade includes improvements to increase the District’s capacity to treat wastewater and reduce risk by providing greater redundancy. As the community continues to grow and sewage sent to the treatment plant continues to increase, improvements to the plant’s redundancy and capacity are required. Not completing these improvements puts the plant and District facilities at risk of failure due to a lack of redundancy and capacity.

• As part of the Phase 4 Upgrade, a tertiary filtration system will be installed to address concerns of suspended solids within the treated effluent.
• Tertiary filtration treatment ensures high quality effluent enters the ground and reliable operation.
• Failure of any single component should not prevent treatment from meeting quality criteria; therefore, key components have been identified for upgrade to ensure the environment and public health are not at risk.
• The WWTP is rapidly approaching capacity, meaning the District will be unable to further service the community.  To ensure residents have a safe and environmentally responsible means of liquid waste disposal, upgrades are necessary.

THE FUNDING

In January 2020 staff submitted a grant application for $9,817,000 to the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program which was not successful. The only option to move forward with the Phase 4 Upgrade is to consider funding through long-term borrowing.

The borrowing will be repaid using existing and future Sewer Development Cost Charges (DCC’s). That means no increase to user fees, parcel taxes or property taxes because of the borrowing. If there are not enough future DCC’s to repay the debt, Council may consider alternatives such as borrowing from reserves or taxes.

The cost of servicing the debt using the Municipal Finance Authority (MFA) interest rate of 3.09% with a 20-year amortization is estimated at $628,012 ($354,856 to principal, $273,156 to interest) in 2022. The total cost of borrowing over 20 years is estimated at $5,463,120.

THE ALTERNATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS

The AAP is open to all qualified electors in the District. No person shall sign an Elector Response Form more than once and no person is permitted to withdraw their name after the deadline. Elector response forms will be accepted only if they are in the form established by the District of Lake Country Council. By signing a form, you are indicating you are OPPOSED to the borrowing. Forms are available at the District of Lake Country Municipal Hall beginning on Thursday, September 2, 2021.

DEADLINE

All Elector Response Forms must be received by the Corporate Officer on or before 4:30 pm Tuesday, October 12, 2021. Elector Response Forms may be submitted in person or by mail to the Municipal Hall, 10150 Bottom Wood Lake Road, Lake Country, BC, V4V 2M1 or by email to admin@lakecountry.bc.ca.

THE NUMBER OF ELECTORS

Based on data from BC Statistics and the 2016 Census, the total number of electors in the District of Lake Country is estimated at 12,669. Under section 86 of the Community Charter, Council may proceed with the Loan Authorization Bylaw only if it does not receive elector response forms signed by at least 10% of the electors. A total of 1267 Elector Response Forms must be received by the deadline to prevent Council from proceeding with the borrowing without first conducting a referendum.

In order to sign an Elector Response form, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• I am eighteen (18) years of age or older;
• I am a Canadian citizen;
• I have resided in BC for at least six (6) months immediately before signing this form;
• I have resided in Lake Country for at least 30 days before signing this form OR I have been the registered owner of property in Lake Country for at least 30 days before signing this form;
• I am not disqualified from voting under the Local Government Act or any other enactment or otherwise disqualified by law from voting;
• I have not previously signed an Elector Response Form for Loan Authorization Bylaw (WWTP) 1158, 2021 AAP.

For information on the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the District’s Liquid Waste Management Plan visit https://letstalk.lakecountry.bc.ca/lwmp or contact Greg Buchholz, Director of Utilities, at 778-738-2711 or gbuchholz@lakecountry.bc.ca. For more information on the Alternative Approval Process please contact Reyna Seabrook, Director of Corporate Services, at 778-738-2742 or rseabrook@lakecountry.bc.ca.

Download, print and complete the Elector Response Form if you are OPPOSED to the borrowing. View the District of Lake Country Policy 190, 2021 which allows for electronic submission of forms. 

All Elector Response Forms must be received by the Corporate Officer on or before 4:30pm Tuesday, October 12, 2021. Elector Response Forms may be submitted in person or by mail to Lake Country Municipal Hall, 10150 Bottom Wood Lake Road, Lake Country, BC V4V 2M1 or by email to admin@lakecountry.bc.ca. 

Water

 Sewer

View the draft OPERATIONAL CERTIFICATE 14651 from the Ministry of Environment to the District of Lake Country for the wastewater treatment facility located in Lake Country, BC. 

Sewer utilities are included annually on property tax notices. All parcels of land that are capable of being connected to the sewer system or which are deemed to abut the sewer system are charged a parcel tax regardless of whether they are connected. Properties that are connected to sewer are charged a user fee and a parcel tax. Please refer to Sewer Service Parcel Tax Bylaw 98-224 for all the details.

• Parcel Tax: $275 per year.
• Annual Residential User Fee: $250 per distinct premises on the property, multiplied by the number of distinct premises.
• Non-residential User Fee: Based on a $250 minimum charge. Refer to Schedule A of Sanitary Sewer Regulation and Rate Bylaw 98-214 for more information.
• Environmental Levy: The environmental levy is a tax to provide for the eventual expansion of the sewer collection system. All properties within the municipality are capable of being drained into the District of Lake Country sewer system, and all properties have the opportunity to use the system therefore each parcel is assessed annually with the parcel tax.  The environmental parcel tax is a flat rate charge per parcel at $75 per parcel. Please refer to Sewer System Parcel Tax Bylaw 98-182 for more information.

FIND OUT MORE:

Pool and hot tub water draining

Unauthorized sewer connections 

Wastewater Treatment Plant Annual Reports