If a major earthquake hits the Lower Mainland area and cuts off essential services, South Delta will be left without an emergency water supply.
The Corporation of Delta is looking to change that, and has put out a request for proposals to complete a feasibility study for a groundwater well in Diefenbaker Park in Tsawwassen.
The request was issued on Tuesday, during national Emergency Preparedness Week.
Delta, which receives its drinking water from Metro Vancouver, already owns and operates three groundwater wells near Watershed Park in North Delta. The wells provide about three per cent of the total water distributed in Delta, and have the ability to serve as sources of emergency water.
There is no such emergency water supply in South Delta, and the goal of the project is to establish a source in Tsawwassen.
The consultant will be responsible for assessing the aquifer capabilities and determining a suitable well location.
According to a timeline in the request for proposal documents, the municipality plans to have a contract signed by mid June. A preliminary report should be delivered by September, which will be reviewed by Delta staff. A final report will be prepared by November, and the project will be wrapped up in January 2018.
Delta Mayor Lois Jackson was unavailable for comment on Wednesday.
In terms of Metro Vancouver’s water delivery capabilities in the event of an earthquake, utilities committee chair Darrell Mussatto said that the regional district has been actively assessing and upgrading the water system since the mid-1990s.
For instance, two dams, a new water filtration plant and the upgraded Port Mann water supply tunnel have been updated to withstand a major seismic event.
“We are working with all municipalities to make sure we can get water to their delivery systems, even if there is an earthquake,” Mussatto, who is also mayor of the City of North Vancouver, said.
Metro is also looking at more locations for bulk water storage, which would help with firefighting during a major incident.
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