
Peachland property owners who use still septic tanks will be asked if they want to hook up to the municipality’s sewer system.
“We’re going to send out a letter to all 1,604 dwellings that are on septic for the moment and we’ll ask them straight out: Do you want sewer or don’t you want sewer? Mayor Patrick Van Minsel told council Tuesday during a discussion of a draft wastewater management plan.
In areas where the majority of people say they want sewer, efforts will proceed to get them hooked up. If residents of a certain area don’t want it, the municipality will move on to the next neighbourhood.
“It’s a decision of the residents who live in that area whether they want to hook up or not,” the mayor said.
Peachland hooked up a number of properties to sewer in 1998 and 2004, but “the 2004 expansion left, due to funding constraints, a number of properties unserviced in the Princeton area. These areas have been referred to as the Phase 2 ‘orphaned’ areas,” the draft report said.
The next steps of sewer expansion would be to complete Phase 2, then move on to the Trepanier and Ponderosa areas, with areas further afield slated for phase 4.
Expanding and maintaining the sewer system won’t be cheap. The draft plan lists costs at $48 million through to 2099.
“Aging infrastructure is a concern,” said consultant Scott Shepherd with the company, Urban Systems.
Property owners would have to pay a local area fee as well as money to hook up their own homes to the system.
“Without grants, that is completely unaffordable,” said Shepherd.
“The cost of hooking up for a home is about $10,000, is that correct,” asked Coun. Randey Brophy.
“With grants you can get that number way down,” answered Shepherd.
Once a neighbourhood opts for sewer, all homeowners have one year to hook up, under Peachland policies, council heard.
Council will discuss the plan some more in a Monday morning meeting. Once it’s approved, the plan will go out for public input.
Later, Van Minsel told council he’ll be travelling more in 2025. One reason is to lobby provincial and federal officials for money, including for the sewer project.