This new report shows how greywater is actually sewage and poses risks to health and water quality….

[see link below for the complete report]

Greywater poses risk to lakes
Salmon Arm Observer
By Barb Brouwer
July 20, 2010

Greywater is often indistinguishable from blackwater and discharges from private and commercial watercraft pose a risk to public health and water quality in Shuswap and Mara lakes.

This is one of the conclusions of a draft Review of Greywater Management Strategies to Protect Health and Water Quality in Shuswap Lake, commissioned by the Fraser Basin Council.

Prepared by Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Ltd., the report notes greywater discharge to Shuswap and Mara lakes is greatest during the summer boating season, particularly where houseboats congregate at popular beaches.

One test taken at Neilsen Beach Aug. 28, 2008, where 13 houseboats were moored, showed fecal coliform counts high enough to close swimming beaches under Health and Welfare Canada standards. But fecal coliform isn’t the only aspect of greywater that poses a health concern. According to the report, greywater from houseboats showed considerably higher levels of degradable organic matter (BOD) than domestic wastewater.

Monitoring last summer reveals that in July, houseboats on Shuswap Lake discharged almost six times the levels of degradable organic material than the Salmon Arm treatment plant.

‘Since the Salmon Arm treatment plant effluent is disinfected prior to discharge it has negligible fecal coliforms, which makes the houseboat greywater discharges a very important source of pathogen indicators, although no fecal coliform loadings were calculated for houseboats due to their high variability,’ reads the report.

Todd Kyllo, co-owner of Twin Anchors Houseboats, is angry that contributors to the report used 2008 data rather than a 2009 report by the Ministry of Environment and Interior Health.

‘After the MOE greywater report of 2009 was released, we had a meeting with MOE, IH, houseboat companies and the District of Sicamous,’ he says. ‘The report was given to us showing basically there was no health concern from the greywater.’

A newsletter sponsored by the three Sicamous houseboat companies and BC Marine Trades was mailed to area homes recently. It promotes the value of the industry to the Shuswap and describes issues around reconfiguring houseboats to accommodate greywater storage tanks.

‘…the technology is expensive, installing holding tanks creates stability and safety issues and there are no facilities to accommodate pumping out large volumes of water,’ reads the newsletter, indicating the houseboat companies continue to work with MOE to implement plans to significantly reduce the amount of greywater discharge.

As well, the newsletter maintains greywater discharge from houseboats is well below federal and provincial guidelines, has minimal impact on water bodies that refresh regularly and contributes minimal amounts of nutrients.

Meanwhile, Kyllo says the houseboat companies are going to be conducting their own water testing over a five-year period ‘ not just a study of houseboats, but of Sicamous Beach, Canoe Beach, Salmon Arm Bay and Blind Bay.

‘We want to get a scientific baseline on water quality in all these areas,’ he says. ‘It is our belief it (results) will be pretty much the same as it is behind the houseboats.’

Whatever the results, the Fraser Basin Council-sponsored study states that while deep waters in the middle of the lake remain relatively pristine, ‘subtle shifts’ are appearing and the appearance of lake-wide algal blooms do not bode well.

Further, notes the report, ‘it is doubtful that public health and water quality in Shuswap Lake and Mara Lake can be adequately protected over the long term unless a greywater containment strategy is developed, followed by defined timelines to eliminate greywater discharges from private and commercial watercraft.’

To start with, the report recommends the removal of automatic dishwashers and laundry facilities from houseboats, switching to phosphate-free degradable detergents, careful removal of food waste from dishes and pots before washing and conservative use of fats and oils. It also recommends all watercraft be fitted out with greywater tanks and that pump-out facilities be established around the lake, possibly beginning with pump-out barges.

But Kyllo asks why houseboat companies should be forced to spend millions changing houseboat infrastructure when greywater comprises only 1.5 to two per cent of the total pollution entering the lake system.

Click here to download the greywater report.

Sad news about a large retail sprawl development for the Salmon River floodplain…

SmartCentres approved in 5-2 vote by council
Salmon Arm Observer
By Lachlan Labere
July 26, 2010

City council has approved the necessary amendments for the SmartCentres proposal to proceed.

The final vote was five two, with Mayor Marty Bootsma in favour along with Couns. Kevin Flynn, Chad Eliason, Debbie Cannon and Alan Harrison. Opposed were Couns. Ivan Idzan and Ken Jamieson. Only for an amendment to an amendment, to limit the footprint of the anchor tenant to 116,000 square-feet, did council vote in favour.

After hearing from more than 350 presenters (excluding letters written on people’s behalf) in four public hearings last week, tonight (Monday) it was council’s turn to make a decision. With the bar raised so high by so many who spoke in favour or against, council did not cheat audience with a simple yea or nay.

Bootsma spoke first, stating up front that he would support the proposed amendment to the official community plan, various zoning amendments and the phased development agreement. He said the debate boiled down to location and economics. Regarding location, he credited the developer for getting approval prior to third reading from the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), which was not the case when the developer’s previous proposal went before council in 2008. As for economics, he said the downtown would not be hurt by the development, and though it would have a negative impact on some businesses, it would have a positive impact on others while providing the city with substantial tax revenue to help pay for services desired by Salmon Arm residents.

Speaking to the perceived division the developer has created in the community, Flynn said that SmartCentres cannot divide the community, but actions and reactions do. And, after stating his intention to vote yes, he went on to explain why. He referenced words that came up throughout the hearings such as ‘pristine’ and ‘paradise,’ and said the part of the SmartCentres property that’s to be developed is neither. He said the location, at 30th and 30th, would help prevent highway commercial sprawl. He also corrected the repeated reference to the property as developable land. Instead, he said it is technically called brownfield redevelopment, referring to property that once was the home of past activities but now sits abandoned, vacant, derelict or underutilized.

Cannon thanked the Wetland Alliance: The Ecological Response (WA:TER) for their persistence, and for revealing the high water mark in the developer’s original qualified environmental professional’s report to be flawed. She admitted she was wrong to vote in favour of the development in 2008. But this time she was in favour. She said her decision, and council’s, was not about lakeshore development or wetlands, or the potential tenant and how much their employees will be paid, but about land use, and was supportive of the 30 acres that the developer will be preserving as agricultural land.

Eliason championed Salmon Arm, and stated that no matter the financial engine of the community, people will continue to move to the city. He credited the pro-development group for forming and the various groups on the no side for the education they provided. He later argued that council, or future councils, need address density options for development in the downtown core, look at making land available in the downtown area for Okanagan College, and work towards attracting clean, green industry to the community. However, he said the city does need revenue to support the various programs citizens want and that commercial growth is how the city funds these initiatives.

With Eliason sealing the deal in favour, about a quarter of the audience upped and left. Harrison was not deterred, however, and proceeded with his speech in favour of the amendments. He began by stating that he did not support the development in 2008 and felt it was a prudent decision. This time around, however, he said the new proposal has been highly scrutinized by MOE and DFO, and that it will not have the same impact. He challenged other suggested locations, stating they would not fit (referring to the Jackson property), or do significant environmental damage. As for economics, the typically prudent councillor said the development may not be a saviour in itself, but would serve as a catalyst.

Idzan revealed how difficult the debate has been for him. He credited presentations made by both sides, stating it’s a sign of how Salmon Arm is maturing as a community. He questioned foreseeable infrastructure costs related to the highway that Salmon Arm residents might eventually be on the hook for, and expressed his concern for past mistakes made on the property, and the developer benefitting from those mistakes.

Like Eliason, Ken Jamieson argued that Salmon Arm is a town that’s growing, and provided StatsCanada figures to advance this case. He listed all the various elements he and council have had to consider from the public hearings, ranging from the relationship between the city and its neighbouring First Nations bands, to hiring practices to Chinese cockroaches. And while he agreed with comments from presenters of both the yes and no persuasion, he could not vote in favour. For one reason, he stated the city’s relationship with First Nations is already strained, and that apart from meeting the minimum requirements of an OCP process, the city has had no discussion of substance with either the Neskonlith or Adam’s Lake bands. Jamieson then cited portions of the city’s official community plan, and concluded that voting against the proposal in no way represents a moratorium on development, but that it does not meet with the guidelines of the OCP.

Regional districts have yet to agree on funding for watershed protection…

Funding for SLIPP on a slippery slope
Eagle Valley News
by Lachlan Labere
Published: July 13, 2010

Politicians may agree the Shuswap Watershed needs protection, but who’s going to manage it and who’s going to pay remain big issues. Ian McGregor, Ministry of Environment (MOE) regional manager, met with Columbia Shuswap Regional District directors from the Shuswap as well as chief administrative officers from the Thompson Nicola and North Okanagan regional districts.

The intent of the meeting was to bring directors up to speed on governance and cost issues prior to a Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP) meeting on June 16. Declaring McGregor’s presentation to be a good overview, CSRD CAO Charles Hamilton says it became clear during the meeting that the way in which costs will be apportioned is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome.

Planning to meet with administrators of the other regional districts involved, Hamilton says it is clear CSRD would incur the lions’ share, with NORD contributing 20 per cent and TNRD 16 per cent. How costs are spread fairly within the regional districts is another issue.

‘The sentiment around the table was generally supportive, at least conceptually,’ he says. ‘But, who pays for it, or how costs are broken down, that’s where the rubber hits the road. Each area only wants to pay in proportion to the benefit they receive.’ Politicians also have differing views about who’s responsible for damaging the lake the most.

‘Personally I feel the issue, in part is nutrient loading and the sources of which are widespread and varied and virtually every one of us no matter what you do in life contribute to that loading,’ says Area C South Shuswap director Ted Bacigalupo. ‘The finger pointing has to stop because no one or no single entity can be held fully responsible for the state of the watershed.’

With a great number of aging septic beds on or near the waterfront, South Shuswap has heard harsh criticism for being without building regulations ‘ criticism most often vocalized by Salmon Arm Mayor Marty Bootsma. ‘CSRD is the only one without building regulations, they’re in the Stone Age when it comes to building regs,’ he said, noting regional districts on all sides do have regulations.

Bacigalupo maintains a sewage treatment system for which CSRD is awaiting infrastructure grant approval includes a very detailed approach to the management and control of septic systems which can be accomplished without the need for building inspection.

‘The reality is the discharge from the Salmon River and from three municipalities, although tertiary treated, coupled with normal land runoff, outdated septic systems and marine activity are all part of the problem. There is no one single cause.’

Robert Niewenhuisen City of Salmon Arm engineer says that upgrades are made to the sewage treatment system every year. ‘The level our treatment plant provides is that water is almost to the point of being drinkable,’ he says. noting that 4.6 million litres a day of tertiary treated effluent go into the bay. Without exact numbers, Niewenhusien figures there are about 700 septic systems within city boundaries.

Meanwhile, although he agrees with Bacigalupo that the watershed’s problems have multiple sources, Phil Hallinan of the Fraser Basin Council, says building inspection is part and parcel of municipal government. ‘A liquid waste plan will simply say the system has to be plumbed correctly,’ he says. ‘Proper building rules and regulations would also deal with pavement of areas.’

Sicamous Mayor Malcolm MacLeod says all of his town is connected to the sewage treatment system, which has just received another large grant. Like Bacigalupo he has felt the sting of criticism.

‘One of my concerns is we haven’t really identified one of the biggest causes possibly of our lake going sideways,’ he says, pointing to Blind Bay septic beds and noting the intense finger-pointing at the discharge of greywater from houseboats. ‘We haven’t really determined that that’s the worst factor.’ MacLeod is both willing to find answers and pay his community’s share for protecting the watershed.

‘We either put up or shut up. It will cost us to do this,’ he says. ‘To think the province is going to do it for us is not fair. The person that lives up north or on the island, why should they pay for it?’

While the CSRD and NORD dither, the TNRD steps up to the plate with cash for watershed protection…

City, South Thompson to contribute to Shuswap
By CAM FORTEMS
Daily News Staff Reporter

Worries about massive algae blooms as well as toxic substances in Shuswap Lake have pushed regional politicians into contributing to a water quality monitoring program. Regional district politicians who live along the southern Thompson watershed agreed in principle Thursday to fund a project aimed at protecting Shuswap Lake.

Ian McGregor, a Ministry of Environment manager in Kamloops who heads the Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP), presented a report to the TNRD outlining its history and current plans.

The contribution from this region toward the $335,000 annual project for three years represents about 16 per cent of the properties on the system. The biggest contribution will come from Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, which is slated to chip in $214,000. It is home to about 64 per cent of the properties on Shuswap Lake.

‘It’s our intake and the watershed where we’re getting our water,’ TNRD chairman and Kamloops mayor Peter Milobar said of contribution from city taxpayers. ‘We’d be interested in next steps.’ Staff will determine how to apportion the $53,000 contribution from this regional district among municipalities and unincorporated areas along the system.

In 2007, a University of B.C. adjunct professor warned of nanoparticles and endocrine disruptors contained in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products contained in outfall from private sewage plants on the lake. Ministry of Environment testing has also found elevated levels of fecal coliform along popular swimming and boating areas.

‘I’ve lived here 40 years and when I first moved here you could dip your cup in the crystal clear water and take a drink,’ said Shuswap activist Jim Cooperman. ‘Now they warn not to drink the water.’ Cooperman applauded the TNRD for taking the lead while other regional districts are not yet willing.

He said the biggest threats to water quality are houseboats, leaking septic systems, agricultural runoff and outfall from a small number of private septic systems. In 2008 a rare algae bloom grew to about 50 kilometres in length on Shuswap Lake and a similar bloom made an appearance on Mara Lake this year.

Directors whose areas border Shuswap Lake as well as the South Thompson and Thompson rivers downstream voted to contribute to SLIPP. ‘Anything that affects our water intake we have to take seriously,’ said director Marg Spina.

Andy Anderson, mayor of Ashcroft, said the village will contribute to a program due to worries about algae that could eventually make its way down the river system to the municipality’s intake.

The SLIPP budget is pared down almost by half after the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District rejected a larger budget. The new budget will focus on water quality and will leave out a recreation management plan looking at whether there are too many ski boats and houseboats on the lake, for example.

‘There’s a lot of recreation on Shuswap Lake. Some of it’s not that safe. We’d like to do a plan,’ McGregor said. He said eventually areas may be zoned for high-speed boating, for example, while others would be off limits to motorboats.

But for now the focus is on protecting water quality from sewage outfall and agricultural runoff. It will include testing and education for boaters and residents.
Governments involved in SLIPP include regional districts, Ministry of Environment and Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

An evening of extraordinary music and images dedicated to the Shuswap…

Shuswap Watershed Project
Media Release
June 3, 2009

Shuswap songs and images at the Salmar on June 17th

There is still a buzz in our community regarding the very successful and magical Song for the Shuswap competition concert and the amazingly great music produced for the event. On April 22nd there was nearly a full audience for the Celebrate the Shuswap evening at the Salmar Classic to enjoy the Song for the Shuswap competition and many images of the Shuswap, although the scheduled slide show had to be cancelled due to technical problems.

Shuswapians will now have another opportunity to see the amazing Shuswap Photo Arts slideshow that celebrates our magnificent watershed region, as well as to hear and watch the winning song performers and many of the contest finalists. On Thursday evening, 7 pm, June 17th at the Salmar Classic, the ‘Best of the Shuswap’ will feature some of the Shuswap’s best songwriters along with the stunning images produced by some of the Shuswap’s best photographers.

Headlining the event will be the song contest winner Sue Kyle and her band Birchbark. Sue, who lives in Seymour Arm, has been a well loved feature on local stages including the Caravan Farm Theatre for decades. Her song, Shuswap Swing, captures the appreciative feelings of living in our local paradise.

It was no surprise that Jesse Clarke came in second with his heart-tugging song about returning to his new home and love, Shuswap Lake. Jesse’s band, Old Man’s Beard, has been thrilling audiences for just a year now and will be at this year’s Roots and Blues Festival. Their first CD, ‘The River,’ was nominated last year for a Southern Interior Music award.

Megan Abel, a ninth grade student at SAS Jackson campus, became an instant star after she sang her winning song to a very appreciative audience. Although, she is relative newcomer having arrived from Prince George just three years ago and just started playing guitar less than a year ago, her songwriting and singing talent has already become legendary.

Singing a cappella, Ariana Vrieling and Shae-lyn James, came in second in the youth category. At the upcoming concert, they will be accompanied by Monika Wilson on piano. Monika, who will also be performing her popular song ‘My Town,’ has taught music and piano for 15 years and plays locally with her band, ‘Good Company.’

Sylvain Vallee wowed the audience in April with his song, ‘Keep the Water Flowing,’ as he included his own piano soundtrack along with some live saxophone melodies. A very talented professional musician, who plays more than a dozen different instruments, Sylvain teaches music and composes for films and television and will be opening a new studio in Scotch Creek soon.

Also performing at the June 17th event will be Sicamous songwriter Len Benty and Salmon Arm actor and musician, Peter Blacklock.

Joining the Song for the Shuswap musicians will be two special guest artists, Dave Allan and Aimie Laws. Dave, who has produced his own CD, ‘Crazy Side,’ has delighted audiences for decades, both on stage for the Caravan and Western Canada Theatre Company and in various bands and at local coffee houses. Aimie Laws, who grew up in Salmon Arm, will be the MC for the event. She is close to releasing her band’s first CD, ‘Only Human’ and she will also be performing at this year’s Roots & Blues Festival.

The June 17th ‘Best of the Shuswap’ event is sponsored by the Shuswap Watershed Project, the Observer and Askews. Tickets are only $5 and will be available at Acorn Music and the Observer office.

NOTE: The Shuswap Photo Arts Club slide show ‘ ‘Celebration of the Shuswap’ can be viewed on their website: shuswapphotoarts.com

For more information, contact:

Jim Cooperman, Project Leader
Shuswap Watershed Project
679-3693, jcoop@ribaa.ca

A summary of the issues regarding the most recent bloom….

Another Shuswap algae bloom
A Shuswap Passion column for the Shuswap Market News
By Jim Cooperman
May 21, 2010

It is orange, smelly and a major concern for all of us who care for our lakes. Once again the Shuswap is experiencing a massive algae bloom that began on May 11th at the mouth of the Shuswap River in Mara Lake and as of May 13th had made it to Sicamous. With no answers yet on the 2008 bloom, the government experts are continuing to scratch their heads as to why these blooms are occurring.

There are basically three types of lakes; oligotrophic with clear water, mesotrophic with clear to opaque water and eutrophic with cloudy water. Shuswap Lake is mostly oligotrophic, except for Salmon Arm Bay that is mesotrophic and now leaning towards eutrophic. However the trends are showing changes in many areas of lake, including Mara Lake, with increasing concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen, the two key nutrients for the growth of algae.

Monitoring efforts have been underway in the Salmon River for a number of years and the results as presented by the Fraser Basin Council show a steady decline in water quality due to an increase in nutrient concentrations. Over this same time period, there has been an increase in livestock numbers with new larger dairy operations moving into the valley. Although the Ministry of Environment has undertaken new ‘nutrient loading’ studies since the 2008 bloom, it still hesitant to suggest any specific causes for that bloom.

A fact sheet has been released by the ministry on the Mara Lake bloom that explains the bloom is made up of Ochromonas, a golden-brown Chrysophyate algae that was the same kind observed in the 2008 bloom. Although it is not toxic, no one would want to drink the acrid foul smelly water near the bloom. In 2008, the ministry reported that this kind of algae requires cold water to bloom and now the fact sheet blames the onset of warmer surface temperatures as one of the causes. And with climate change, the fact sheet predicts that more blooms are likely.

According to the fact sheet, blooms like this usually dissipate after ‘a week or so’ and yet the fact sheet also claims that the bloom will ‘probably’ make its way into Shuswap Lake. Are these blooms a sign of water quality deterioration? ‘Not necessarily,’ according to ministry fact sheet, as there are many complex factors that result in blooms like this besides excess nutrients, including the status of predators, the presence of certain bacteria and calm water.

While lakeside residents would likely all agree that because of the bad smell the lake is deteriorating, the ministry looks at the advantages to the fisheries of these blooms which produce more food for fish. However, that is not to say the ministry is not concerned as they are planning more studies into the possible sources of the nutrients needed for algae growth.

Meanwhile, local residents coordinated by the Shuswap Water Action Team (SWAT) are into their second year of volunteering their labour, boats, and fuel, to help the local Ministry of Environment staff conduct lake water studies using Secchi disks to gauge the clarity of the water throughout the lake. This year they plan to undertake an additional study to determine how much algae will grow on disks suspended below the surface in about twelve sites. Locals have often stated their concerns that buoys, docks and boats get coated with algae whereas years ago this was not a problem. SWAT is providing some funding to help with the algae tests which were not in the Ministry of Environment’s budget.

The Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process developed a strategic plan that includes a detailed monitoring program that would have the capability of determining the sources of these blooms. However, the plan, which also includes many other much needed projects, is stalled due to lack of funding.

The situation in the Shuswap stands in stark contrast to the history of looking after Okanagan Lake, where concerns about water quality led to the creation of the Okanagan Basin Water Board over 40 years ago. A 1974 summary report described phosphorus as the major nutrient responsible for ‘undesirable algae blooms’ and recommended an action plan that including improvements to waste water management as well as the ‘complete removal of all direct polluting discharges to stream waters.’ Hopefully this second bloom will help convince our political leaders to show leadership and undertake the kind of collaborative efforts that helped Okanagan Lake recover years ago.

SEE WATER ISSUES for more details…

It looks similar, it smells similar and it’s covering most of Mara Lake….

Ed. Note: as of May 14, the bloom is still there. Possible sources of excessive nutrients that resulted in this bloom include agricultural run-off and the sewage effluent from the Enderby Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Suspected algae bloom blights Mara Lake
By Barb Brouwer,
Salmon Arm Observer
May 12, 2010

It looks similar, it smells similar and it’s covering most of Mara Lake.

But whether a suspected algal bloom is the same as the Shuswap Lake one that stretched from Salmon Arm Bay to Sicamous in June 2008, was yet to be determined at the Shuswap Market News press deadline.

Tina Keeley, Mara Lake resident and co-ordinator of a 15-member Shuswap Water Action Team (SWAT) water testing crew, got a call about 2 p.m. Tuesday advising her that what was suspected to be an algal bloom had been spotted at the south end of Mara Lake.

A couple of hours later, Keeley received another call, this time from a Swansea Point volunteer.

‘She said she could see it ‘ rust, brown, yellow in streaks and a putrid smell,’ said Keeley. ‘She figured it stretched from Swansea Dock to Black Point, close to the entrance of Turtle Bay.

‘From what she could see, she suggested 60 to 70 metres long and about 20 metres across.’

Keeley called the Ministry of Environment to report the sighting and says staff responded quickly, promising to send staff out the following morning.

‘We rounded up a bunch of water testers and asked them to take samples and tell us if and where they spotted the bloom,’ says Keeley, noting that her biggest concern was to inform everyone who gets water from the lake not to drink it until they knew what they were dealing with.

When Keeley and her husband went out on the lake Wednesday morning the bloom had sunk below the surface.

‘We headed south to the slide area on Highway 97A and were right in the middle of it, about five to six feet below the surface of the water, all big huge yellow swirls, but no smell,’ she says. ‘We drifted and it would come around the boat, then it would be gone. Whether it’s breaking up or sinking because of the cold nights we don’t know.’

Gabriele Matscha, an environmental section head in MOE’s Kamloops office, said Wednesday her staff were on Mara Lake collecting samples which were to be tested by an algal specialist Thursday.

‘I cannot comment on whether it is the same, but similarities have been observed,’ Matscha said referring to the 2008 Shuswap Lake bloom that was similar in time of year, colour and associated odour. ‘Their report indicates a threat that it’s likely an algal bloom that has spread from Shuswap River to Mara Point.’

Testing was expected to reveal algae type, concentration and potential risks of the algae to human and the environment, said Matscha, noting MOE planned to release a question and answer sheet once the details became available. Matscha said MOE staff will continue to investigate in a step-by-step process to find both causes and the source of the bloom.

Environmentalists were vocal about the appearance of the bloom.

‘Once again, we’re facing a large algal bloom that is like the canary in the coal mine,’ said Shuswap Environmental Action Society president Jim Cooperman. ‘It points to serious problems in Shuswap and Mara lakes and the need for a Shuswap watershed council as recommended by SLIPP (Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process).’

SWAT president Ray Nadeau calls the algal bloom another indication of excess nutrients being put into the lake from various sources

The city of Salmon Arm’s economic study used to justify the need for big-box development is grossly flawed and misleading….

Reports vastly different
By Barb Brouwer, Salmon Arm Observer
May 11, 2010

Information being used to update Salmon Arm’s official community plan is seriously flawed, say several residents.

The group commissioned a methodological review of a recent Retail and Industrial Land Use Market Study and Impact Analysis prepared for the City of Salmon Arm by Urbanics Consultants of Vancouver.

‘I read the Urbanics study and personally thought it was seriously flawed,’ says Ian Wickett, a member of the group that includes David Askew, Louise Wallace, Don Sawyer and Bill Remphrey. ‘This study confirms my concerns that assumptions without basis, analysis without rigour and drastically wrong conclusions (are contained) in the Urbanics study.’

City staff and Urbanics report author Cody Matheson told the Observer in January the report was written without bias and represented the best data available at the time of its undertaking.

But Wickett takes issue with how some of the data was collected for the report which, he says, is being heavily relied upon in the OCP review to justify the need to provide land for big-box retailers along the Trans-Canada Highway.

‘This course is being pursued in the face of the OCP review survey in which only 37 per cent of respondents supported this measure,’ he says.

The new report, completed by Thomas Consultants Inc. (TCI), a major Vancouver retail development and consultant firm, contends that Urbanics’ use of provincial-level retail trade data gathered by Statistics Canada led to misleading trade-area spending estimates.

TCI examined trade-area-specific spending characteristics and found the Urbanics’ estimates, for example, are significantly misleading in a number of key retail categories, including apparel, footwear, electronics, home furnishings, home improvements, food and beverage, supermarkets, alcohol, tobacco and services, Wickett says.

Calculations of retail dollars spent outside the community are also misleading, according to the Thomas Consultants report.

One of the worst distortions is that Urbanics ignored much of the grocery floor space, Wickett adds, estimating out-of-town spending in the grocery category to be $54 million ‘ a full 250 per cent higher than the Thomas Consultants’ figure of $21 million.

‘The estimate of $216 million of yearly outflow means, on average, given our regional population of 34,500, a household of four would spend approximately $25,000 after tax dollars,’ says Wallace, maintaining Urbanics’ numbers themselves reveal the report’s flaws. ‘We know from the latest census data that the median after-tax income in 2005 for a census of all families in this region is only $49,172, leaving a mere $2,000 per month for all expenses combined, including transportation, housing, utilities and insurance. It just doesn’t add up.’

Since recapturing money local people spend outside this trading area was key to Urbanics’ argument that large-format stores are needed in Salmon Arm, Wallace, Wickett and the other group members say exposure of the ‘huge overestimate,’ debunks Urbanics rather rosy analysis of the impact on existing businesses.

‘If a large format retail store were to be successful in Salmon Arm, many local businesses would be affected disastrously for many years to come,’ says Wickett.

The Thomas Consultants review concludes there are sufficient deficiencies in the consultant’s retail outflow and impact analyses to warrant re-examination.

‘It is important to note that TCI is not opposed to any retail format including large retail format, and sees considerable value in weaving an appropriately scaled mix of various formats into a community in locations which will help to increase its overall appeal, retain healthy spending and ultimately complement existing retail concentrations,’ reads the review’s conclusion. ‘That being said, it is important for municipal decision-making to be informed by the best possible retail market information and associated analysis and recommendations. Therefore, a re-examination of retail outflow by category and retail impact assessment which accounts for future supply considerations is highly recommended for Salmon Arm.’

The Thomas Consultants report was funded by donation.

To see the complete review visit www.wickettbusinessservices.com/reportreview

SmartCentres’ proposed shopping centre for the west end of Salmon Arm is back on the table, but reduced from 34 to 22 acres….

SmartCentres scales back development plans

Salmon Arm Observer
By Martha Wickett
May 12, 2010

SmartCentres’ proposed shopping centre for the west end of town is back on the table.

The City of Salmon Arm has now received a revised application from SmartCentres, confirms the city’s director of development services Corey Paiement.

The application was put on hold in January after the Ministry of Environment asked the company to redo a portion of its Riparian Areas Regulation (RAR) report regarding its property near the Salmon River. The issue in question was how often the river spills over its banks and, in turn, how close to the river a development could be built.

Paiement said Wednesday that a revised application was received earlier in the week, which features a smaller footprint.

‘Basically the difference is, the proposal is for a retail area of approximately 20 acres,’ he said, explaining that the former application was for 34 acres of retail development.

The city had not yet received the revised report from a qualified environmental professional (QEP) that’s required by the regulation, but Paiement said the city has received an e-mail saying the Ministry of Environment has approved the QEP report.

Paiement said the city is also awaiting an updated traffic study because traffic requirements may be less with a smaller retail development. The property is located northeast of the intersection of 30th Street SW and the Trans-Canada Highway.

Regarding time frame, Paiement said once city staff have received all the information, they must review it to consider the changes.

‘The earliest it could possibly start going before council would be sometime in June to (the) development and planning (committee).’

SmartCentres’ Salmon Arm Shopping Centre website notes that its revised RAR assessment was approved April 30, and the amended proposal will consist of approximately 22 acres.

‘We are requesting the site be rezoned to Comprehensive Development Zone to permit the development of the shopping centre. National retailers including Home Depot, Future Shop, Winners, Staples, and more, continue to express interest in locating their stores in Salmon Arm,” states the website.

The diagram on the website outlining the new plan shows just one large format store, as opposed to the three that were once proposed.

Nathan Hildebrand, land development manager for SmartCentres, responded by e-mail to the Observer.

‘The total proposed size of the centre is approximately 240,000 square feet and we anticipate construction to occur in phases over the next four to five years,’ he stated.

When SmartCentres submitted its first application in October 2007, which was turned down after a series of marathon public hearings, the company reported it had purchased about 60 acres with the plan to use 40 acres for retail and parking.

In a second attempt, in August 2009 the company submitted a report from a qualified environmental professional to the city, to try to get environmental requirements dealt with first. However, in December, the ministry commissioned an additional environmental assessment.

At the May 12 meeting of the Salmon Arm Downtown Improvement Association board, DIA manager Joanne Mason told the board that Hildebrand paid a visit to the DIA last week.

‘It was nothing more than a courtesy call ‘ they’re resubmitting their application to the city. They will be requesting a substantially smaller parcel of land.’

Coun. Chad Eliason, the city’s representative on the DIA board, said he would expect a public hearing in June or July.

‘If I was a betting man, probably mid-summer,” Eliason said.

Mayor Marty Bootsma told the Observer that he spoke to Hildebrand about a week ago and understands that the revised plan would include about eight acres above and beyond the urban containment boundary.

‘It looks like it’s scaled back considerably.’

Asked if SmartCentres is frustrated or happy with the process, Bootsma said he’s sure the company would have preferred to have its first proposal go through.

‘I can’t speak to their emotions, if they have any. It’s a business, right?’

“Unacceptable” impacts to Rosemond Lake, adjacent to Mara Lake…

Shuswap Environmental Action Society

Media Release
April 15, 2010

Off-road vehicles damaging sensitive wetlands

The Shuswap Environmental Action Society (SEAS) recently received a report from local resident and SEAS member Bob Whitly with photos that describe and show serious damage to sensitive wetlands adjacent to Rosemond Lake.

Bob explained how on April 4, 2010, he and his wife went for a nature hike around the lake in the afternoon, ‘We encountered 4 motor bikes and 5 ATVs in the riparian zone of the lake.’ Bob’s photos, which are attached to this release, clearly show these irresponsible off-road riders tearing up the sensitive shoreline area of this lake. As well, there are signs posted that plainly state that no motorized vehicles are allowed.

Rosemond Lake is an ‘appendix’ to Mara Lake and provides important fish, reptile and bird habitat. The endangered painted turtles breed and winter in this area. The riders illegally access this area via a logging road from the Larch Hills.

Bob reported the incidence to the government’s RAPP phone line and a conservation officer phoned ten days later to explain that he is the only staff person for a large area and is only able to make infrequent visits. However, he does plan to visit the Rosemond Lake area soon. Bob also attempted to contact Crime Stoppers (as posted on the sign), but was cut-off after a 20 minute hold.

‘It is unacceptable that damage like this is occurring and government agencies are unable to adequately respond to these problems,’ said Jim Cooperman, SEAS president. ‘Government staffing and budget cut-backs are partly responsible for the lack of public oversight in the backcountry,’ he added.

The government is planning to license and develop regulations for off-road vehicles in 2011, but in the meantime damage to sensitive areas like Rosemond Lake is increasing. B.C. is the only jurisdiction left in North America without adequate off-road vehicle regulations.

For more information, contact:

Bob Whitley, 838-0626
Jim Cooperman, SEAS president, 679-3693