Hornby LTC Regular Meeting Addendum

Extracted text (beginning)

Hornby Island Local Trust Committee
 
Regular Meeting Addendum
 

Date:May 21, 2021
Time:10:00 am
Location:Electronic Meeting
Pages
9.LOCAL TRUST COMMITTEE PROJECTS
10:50 AM - 11:20 AM
9.2.Hornby Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Project - Staff Report - for
discussion
2 - 7

  STAFF REPORT 
Z:\08 Governance\3032 HO LTC\20 Meetings - Open (P)\06 Agenda Items\2021\2021-05-21\Late Items\FWSS_2021-05-21_HO-
DWWP_REPORT.docx  
Islands Trust Staff Report 1 
File No.: 6500-20 Freshwater  
DATE OF MEETING: May 21, 2021 
TO: Hornby Island Local Trust Committee 
FROM: William Shulba, P.Geo, Senior Freshwater Specialist 
Local Planning Services 
COPY: Regional Planning Committee 
Hornby Water Stewardship 
Narissa Chadwick, Senior Island Planner 
SUBJECT: Hornby Island Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Project  
REPORT SUMMARY 
The purpose of this staff report is to introduce to the Hornby Local Trust Committee (LTC) to the Hornby 
Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Project under the Islands Trust Freshwater Sustainability Strategy.  
BACKGROUND 
Freshwater networks are unique  amenities in the Islands Trust Area that support ecosystem health and overall 
hydrological  function  of  watersheds.  With  vulnerabilities  of  seasonal  precipitation  and  temperature  changes, 
recharge area alternations, saltwater intrusion, and biological contamination, freshwater resources are a metric 
of  land-use  and  climate  change,  whereby  island  communities  must  adopt  adaptation  strategies  to  ensure 
sustainability. 
In the Islands Trust Area, watershed health is intricately linked to the quality of freshwater networks that support 
healthy  drinking  water,  thriving  ecosystems,  and  safe  recreation.  Land-use  changes  in  densely  populated areas 
impacts the potential of watershed ecosystems to promote  aquifer recharge, naturally treat water quality, and 
provide  sufficient  environmental  flow  needs.  Flooding  and  erosion  from  increased  winter  stormwater  and  low 
water flows in the summer have short- and long-term impacts on water supplies.  
Hornby Island residents and ecosystems rely entirely on direct precipitation to recharge watersheds and aquifers 
for their water supply. With the projected long-term fall in summer rainfall, increase in overall temperatures, and 
increase in precipitation intensity in winter, B.C.’s Coastal Douglas-fir and Garry oak-arbutus ecosystems are facing 
accelerating ecosystem health risks that impact the ability of watersheds to filter biological contaminants from 
various natural and anthropogenic sources. If left unaddressed, negative feedback loops will accelerate, precious 
watersheds will be critically damaged, and the source of potable water will continue to be impacted on Hornby 
Island.  Jurisdictional  complexity  is  a  defining  feature  in  the  protection  of  unique  watershed  ecosystems  that 
define the Hornby Island and jurisdictional limitations in existing legislation ha

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