Mayor’s Message

Re: Aquifer 560 Watershed Agreement

This is a stellar and satisfying accomplishment to end our Council’s first nine months. When I was last on Council in 2018, the SCRD was planning to drill into Aquifer 560 (the Town’s water supply) with no cooperation or communication with the Town. In response, we decided to help address the SCRD’s water shortages by extending our own aquifer-fed system to Upper Gibsons, ending any daily reliance by the Town on Chapman Creek (SCRD) water supply, which is now greatly enhanced by Well #6 that we turned on earlier this summer.

In 2018, Jeremy Valeriote and I led the call for a co-management agreement with the SCRD for Aquifer 560. Then I was off Council for four years, frustratingly watching no progress made on responsible co-management of our water source.

Getting this work back on track was one of my top priorities when I ran for mayor last summer. Thanks to outstanding Town staff and data, full Council support, and a renewed spirit of collaboration from the SCRD, this new agreement is even more promising and mutually beneficial than what we hadenvisioned in 2018. 

With shared monitoring and integrated infrastructure, we can better plan for and ensure sustainable stewardship of the aquifer and watershed in the Gibsons area and on a regional basis, further reducing reliance on the chronically drought-impacted Chapman system. 

This cooperation will also greatly assist in our efforts to work with the Squamish Nation on provincial watershed security and protection of the aquifer recharge area. I am looking forward to tackling that work next!