(Courtesy Google Maps)
by Dave Preston
Residents of Thorne Road continued their 30-year quest Tuesday to get what most of the rest of Peachland takes for granted: drinking water.
Thorne Road is one of just a few areas that is not hooked up to the town’s water supply. Recently, residents sent a letter to council asking that their properties be hooked up to the water system.
“A preliminary strategy for servicing the Thorne Road area with potable water and fire protection was completed by the district in 1995,” said Doug Allin, director of operations.
Thorne Road is at the end of Hardy Street and residents currently have their own wells, although at least one has to truck in water now. The nearest fire hydrant is at the intersection of Hardy and Renfrew Roads.
Allin reported that Thorne Road and several other areas in Peachland are not part of the town’s Water Master Plan and there is currently no plan in place to hook up the areas to the town’s water supply.
Jim Carpenter told council Tuesday he has lived on Thorne Road for 12 years and this is the third time he is aware of where residents have approached council about hooking up to municipal water.
Carpenter said the area is heavily forested and poses a high fire risk, yet there is no readily available water source for firefighting purposes.
Residents are concerned about water table contamination from a huge orchard up hill and about limited supply, according to Carpenter. He added that residents on Thorne Road are paying the town’s water parcel tax but not included in the Water Master Plan’s future upgrades.
Allin said engineering was done in the mid-1990s, but cost was a stumbling block at the time.
“This is your opportunity to fix something that should have been fixed 30 years ago,” said another man.
Council agreed to have staff sit down with area residents to understand their needs and the timing of hooking up to water. Staff will then prepare a report for council, including options, that can be discussed during 2012 budget deliberations.
- Excited
- Informed
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
First of all, the Thorne Road residents should not be paying the water parcel tax and should be refunded whatever monies they have paid to date, especially because there is no plan to bring water to them.
Secondly, when folks purchased property in this area they should have been fully aware that there was no water service and that there was never any plan for water service and therefore should not expect there to be water service, ever. Like was stated earlier, the discounted price paid for these properties reflects their undesirability in this regard. To now complain to the town that you have no water and the town is ignoring you is preposterous. It would be different if there was a plan that had not been implemented. If some unscrupulous real estate agent said “Oh, the town will bring water here in the future”, then that’s unfortunate, but not “our problem”.
Logically, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one” – Mr. Spock.
Isn’t that what happened on the 30 acres on McDougall Rd when it was first sold?
Promises of water to service the property which ended up incorrect which lead to the passing of the permit for a gravel pit notion to be started.
Here is another example of the tail wagging the dog…perhaps since we pay this “staff” so generously they could DO THEIR JOB! just saying…this has clearly been an issue for some time and clearly staff have been aware of it..why hasn’t it been resolved?
walkways are more important it seems