News that breaks site layout

Happy New Year 2025!

Read SSID's request that setback reports be kept out of the OCP. The Trustees have reviewed the recommended setbacks outlined in 2 engineering reports submitted to the qathet Regional District, and have advised the qRD that inclusion of the setbacks in the Savary Island Official Community Plan will be detrimental to SSID's future operations. While OCPs are in themselves non-regulatory, any related zoning bylaw can use specific parts of the OCP as law. The OCP is scheduled to be complete by early fall 2025. Participate to have your opinion heard. Sign up for more information at https://www.qathet.ca/current_project/savaryocp/

Lithium Battery and Solar Experiment. SSID has replaced 2 lead-acid batteries with a lithium battery suitable for powering the Thomson Controller. We are also testing 4 solar panels to see if they can provide enough energy in these darkest days of winter to keep the new lithium battery charged.

Pressure Test completed on Saturday November 16. SSID's System Operator temporarily closed the Upper Tank for a pressure test on Nov 16. It wasn't a total water shut down, because the Operator redirected water from the Lower Tank to the whole water district during the test. The test was necessary to understand the affect of removing the Upper Tank for replacement or refurbishment, as may be required within the next 5 years. The test showed a marked reduction in residential water pressure, as was predicted.

Upper Tank Feasibility Study delivered December 19. SSID has received the draft feasibility study from engineering team MSR Solutions, with options for replacement of the upper tank. The study is a followup to the upper tank exterior thickness test in April 2024 that showed areas of steel degradation affecting the service life of the tank. The draft is under review by the trustees and operator, to be corrected or expanded as needed, then posted to this site when final, approximatey mid January.

Bubbles in the Upper System. In October and November, SSID's System Operator replaced the 3 old Air Release Valves with new. The first installation at the corner of Blair & Arbutus appears to have removed bubbles (trapped air) that had been reported periodically in the Upper System. (To determine if your property is in the Upper System, please see the YELLOW properties shown on SSID's System Map.) The harmless air bubbles can show up at residential taps, but will settle out if left on the counter for a few minutes. Please let the [email protected] know if you do have bubbly water.

Lower System cleared September 22.  SSID's System Operator completed a chlorine flush on September 22, after ensuring that treated water had reached all parts of the Lower System watermains. The water was re-sampled October 1, and found to be clear.

Water samples from the Lower System had shown "background colonies" in test results received September 20. Background colonies are not harmful, but they do indicate an environment in which harmful bacteria could settle, and this was the 3rd time in 2 months that the colonies had been present. Flushing with only water had worked temporarily, but on September 21-22, SSID's System Operator sterilized the lower tank and its distribution lines, with chlorine (sodium hypochlorite 12%). The amount at resident taps was safely within Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines. FAQs are at savaryshoreswater.ca/chlorine-flush-faqs

AGM 2024 Complete. The 43rd Annual General Meeting was held at Pascalito's Hacienda at Vancouver Blvd & Brian's Way. There were presentations from the Trustees, Operator, and Administrator; re-appointment of SSID's Accountant; and a vote to continue Trustee Remuneration. There was no trustee election, as no one other than incumbent Trustee Brent Brucker had offered to run. Trustee Brucker takes on the new 3-term term that started August 4. Minutes of the AGM may be viewed here, and are considered draft until amended or adopted at the 2025 AGM.

Water Use and Distribution Regulation Bylaw 136. This important regulation was adopted by SSID on December 13 2023, and registered by the provincial government on January 4 2024. It replaces Bylaw 102, and contains clauses regarding Commercial Use.

Hydrants installed May 10-11, 2024. The hydrants at Patricia Cres / Manahan Rd and at Blair Rd / Arbutus Rd, have been replaced. These are the 3rd and 4th replacements of the 13-Hydrant Replacement Program.

Update, as requested at 2023 AGM. On October 31 2023, SSID issued a newsletter regarding the status of the generator complaint and associated costs, and provided an opportunity for written replies, by November 21 2023. We thank all who contributed. A summary of the replies was emailed to owners on December 15 2023, and can also be found at Property Owners' Responses.

SSID does not share its property owners email list. The list is confidential in accordance with Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation. Email addresses are hidden, and an unsubscribe option is provided.

The 2017 Fire Underwriter's Survey established Savary Shores Improvement District as "limited protection" rather than the previous rating "unprotected." The Dwelling Protection Grade was 4, and the Public Fire Protection Classification was 8 (out of 10, Grade-1 is highest). The FUS Survey was updated in 2020. SSID has not been re-examined or re-graded by FUS since 2017.