Backgrounder: Creating a Legacy
Summary
TimberWest Forest Corp. is selling a total of 9,723 hectares of land to the Capital Regional District (CRD): 8,791 hectares for watershed protection and 932 hectares for regional park purposes.
This land acquisition by the CRD includes future water supply lands in the Leech River valley and an addition to the Sea-to-Sea Green Blue Belt east of the Sooke Potholes Regional Park. The parkland acquisition is consistent with the CRD vision for the regional park system and the Sea-to-Sea Green Blue Belt.
It is one of the largest land transactions in British Columbia in recent years.
Water System History
As far back as 1910, Victoria City Council passed a bylaw authorizing it to proceed with the development of the Sooke Lake water supply project. The bylaw was submitted to the electors and supported by a large majority.
On May 28, 1915 Mayor Stewart opened the Sooke Lake water system. The Victoria Daily Times reported:
“Few cities in Western Canada, certainly none of the population of Victoria, will be able to boast of such a satisfactory supply as will be afforded by the system which is opened today.”
The foresight of Victoria City Council in purchasing the water supply lands has directly contributed to the high quality water supply enjoyed by today’s residents.
In the 1980’s the Leech River Diversion Tunnel was constructed in anticipation of expanding demand for water. However, because of lower water quality in the Leech River, the tunnel has not been put into service.
The Future
Presently the Sooke Reservoir is expected to meet regional water needs for at least the next 15 years.
However, without the purchase of additional water supply lands to maintain the current supply system, ratepayers could be faced with the cost of constructing a new water purification facility.
The purchase of the water supply lands allows the CRD to ensure long-term water supplies, while avoiding costly future capital expenditures.
The Leech River watershed, previously owned and managed by TimberWest under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification, is an area of well-managed forest land that will augment the present Greater Victoria Water Supply Lands by providing an additional future source of high quality water.
With this purchase, the CRD will have control of almost 20,000 hectares of land dedicated to the protection of its water supply.
In the future the Leech River watershed will be managed in the same manner as the Greater Victoria Water Supply Lands, with the lands being returned to a natural state over time as the forest cover matures.
In order to protect the watershed, access to the Leech River watershed will be controlled, and access by the general public will be prohibited which is in line with other water supply lands managed by CRD Water Services.
Benefits
There are a number of benefits associated with the acquisition of the Leech River watershed including:
- Control of land use in future water supply lands.
- Avoidance of the capital ($150 million) and operating costs ($3 million/annum) associated with a water treatment facility.
- Long-term protection of fisheries, wildlife and ecological values.
The high capital and operating costs of a water filtration plant will be avoided, with only disinfection (ultraviolet light and chlorine/chloramine) being necessary to provide safe drinking water.
Sea-to-Sea Green Blue Belt
The Sea-to-Sea Green Blue Belt is defined as land from Saanich and Tod Inlet to Sooke Basin (north to south) and from the Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park Reserve to the Sooke River (east to west).
The vision is to create a continuous protected area of approximately 10,000 hectares, making it the largest contiguous protected area in the CRD. To date more than 7,400 hectares of the proposed Sea to Sea Green Blue Belt is provincial or regional park land, including Gowlland Tod, Goldstream and Sooke Mountain provincial parks and Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park Reserve and Sooke Potholes Regional Park.
The establishment of a Sea-to-Sea Green Blue Belt is a significant focus of the CRD Regional Growth Strategy, the Regional Green/Blue Spaces Strategy and the CRD Parks Master Plan.
The new park lands also provide important:
- Habitat for large mammals such as black bear, elk and cougar.
- Recreational features including a major corridor along the Sooke River providing protection for the entire eastern side of the river from the Sooke Potholes to Kapoor Regional Park Reserve along the popular Galloping Goose Regional Trail.
When fully protected, this expansive wilderness corridor will be a priceless legacy for residents and visitors to the Capital Region.
The new park lands will protect important ecological areas including approximately three kilometres along the east side of Sooke River, provide excellent opportunities for hiking and fishing in Peden Lake and provide natural buffer areas to the Galloping Goose Regional Trail.