UPDATE - Staff report now available on agenda for Special Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday February 2, 2016, 7:00 PM at the Monterey Recreation Centre (1442 Monterey Avenue).

The provincial government’s Municipal Wastewater Regulation requires all BC municipalities to have separate stormwater and sanitary sewer systems. Compliance with the provincial regulation is mandatory for the District of Oak Bay as it is for other jurisdictions in the province such as Burnaby, New Westminster and the City of Vancouver where single pipe infrastructure currently exists.

The Uplands area is the last remaining neighbourhood to have a single pipe system to accommodate both sanitary sewer and storm water flows. During heavy rainfall, the storm water volume exceeds the capacity of the system and a combination of storm water and raw sewage discharges into the ocean at the Rutland and Humber pump stations.

Six options have been identified to achieve mandatory compliance.

During November, approximately 200 residents of Oak Bay attended one or more of five Open Houses to learn more about these options (the presentation materials from the open houses are available here). Residents were also encouraged to complete an online survey before midnight on December 11, 2015.

A comprehensive staff report, including an in-depth review of the public input and the survey responses, will be considered at the Special Committee of the Whole meeting scheduled for February 2, 2016, 7:00 PM at the Monterey Recreation Centre (1442 Monterey Avenue). The report is available for review on the website here. Oak Bay residents are invited to attend and share their views, ideas, concerns and support on the six options. Those wishing to provide correspondence for the agenda can provide it to Corporate Services by 3:00 PM on February 2, 2016. Correspondence can be submitted by email or by hard copy to the Municipal Hall (2167 Oak Bay Avenue, Victoria BC, V8R 1G2).

For more information, see the Uplands Sewer Separation Project webpage here.