About the Comox Valley Water Treatment Project
A new water treatment plant is under development for the Comox Valley water system. Once complete, Comox Valley residents will have the modern water treatment system they deserve and turbidity related boil water notices will be eliminated. In the interim, installation of temporary UV treatment is expected to reduce boil water notices by about 80 per cent as we await construction of the new water treatment plant.
This short video provides an excellent overview of the project.
Project Background
The Comox Valley Water System provides drinking water to 45,000 residents but doesn’t comply with current provincial guidelines.
Our water system relies solely on chlorination and does not effectively protect against parasites. In addition, elevated turbidity levels can interfere with the chlorination of the water and increase the risk of bacteria and viruses, triggering the need for boil water notices.
A new water system will bring the Comox Valley water system in line with other communities across BC, Canada and the developed world.
The new water system will deliver three main benefits:
1. It will eliminate the need for turbidity-related boil water notices.
2. It will remove the risk of viruses, parasites and bacteria in our drinking water.
3. It will provide a secure supply of reliable, high quality drinking water for decades to come.
Read more about why a new water treatment plant is needed.
Project Timelines
Construction of the new water treatment plant is scheduled to begin late in 2019 and will be fully operational by 2021.
To provide interim relief to turbidity-related boil water notices, the CVRD has installed UV reactors in the existing treatment plant, adding a second level of water treatment and raising the allowable NTU. This is expected to reduce boil water notices by up to 80 per cent. The UV reactors will then be moved to the new facility when constructed.
Project Funding
The Comox Valley Water Treatment Project is estimated to cost $110.6 million.
While the CVRD is seeking grants from the federal and provincial governments, there will still be costs for which the CVRD will be responsible.
The Comox Valley Water System currently holds reserves of $26.3 million and the CVRD plans to borrow up to $29 million over a maximum of 25 years to finance its share of the construction costs for the new water treatment system.
The cost of borrowing this money will mean an increase in bulk water rates for users of the Comox Valley Water System. It is estimated the new system will cost roughly $86 household/year.
For more information about how we will fund our Water Treatment Project please see our cost breakdown.
Recent News
The K’ómoks First Nation and Comox Valley Regional District signed a Mutual Benefit Agreement on September 28, 2018 confirming cooperation and collaboration in the management of water resources in the region.
In the signing of this agreement, KFN has stated its support of the Comox Valley Water Treatment Project and the CVRD’s water license application.
For more information about this agreement please see our news announcement.
For more information about the Comox Valley Water Treatment Project please see the following documents:
- Comox Valley Water Treatmet Project- Request for Proposals Direction (Aug 2018)
- Request for Qualifications Staff Report (June 2018)
- Value Planning Study Final Report (May 2018)
- Comox Valley Water Treatment Project –implementation Decisions (Oct 2017)
- Draft Indicative Design Report (Oct 2017)
- Draft Indicative Design Drawings (Oct 2017)
- Comox Valley Water Treatment Project – Update (Sep 2017)
- Procurement Options Analysis (Nov 2016)
- Comox Valley Water System Bulk Water Rates (Oct 2016)
- Comox Lake Water Treatment Options Study Webpage
- Project Definition Report (Sep 2016)
- Regional Water Supply Strategy (April 2011)
- Comox Lake Intake Conceptual Design (January 2009)
- Comox Lake Water Supply Study Phase 1 (October 2008)