April 4, 2019 - Bylaws to Protect Drinking Water on Salt Spring

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Bowen, Denman, Hornby,  Gabriola, Galiano, Gambier, Lasqueti, Mayne, N. Pender, Salt Spring, Saturna, S. Pender, Thetis 
 
 
News Release 
200- 1627 Fort Street Victoria, BC  V8R 1H8 
Telephone  (250) 405-5151 FAX:  (250) 405-5155 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver 660-2421.  Elsewhere in BC 1.800.663.7867 
information@islandstrust.bc.ca     www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
 
April 4, 2019            2019-10-IT 
 
NEW BYLAWS TO PROTECT DRINKING WATER ON SALT SPRING 
 
Coast Salish Territory, Salt Spring Island—The Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee (SSI LTC) has adopted two 
bylaws that will help maintain water quality in the Island’s drinking water lakes while also respecting the role that 
farming plays in the island’s culture and economy.  
 
“Our understanding of just how precious freshwater is on an island like Salt Spring deepens every day,” said SSI LTC 
Chair, Peter Luckham. “In adopting these bylaws, the committee was responding to community concern about the 
quality of freshwater drawn from local lakes. These new policies and regulations were informed by the efforts of a 
special working group that included representatives from the agricultural community and water protection groups, 
working alongside local residents. We thank everyone who was involved in this process and who helped us to take this 
step to ensure the protection of fresh drinking water now and into the future.” 
 
Bylaw 496 amends the Salt Spring Island Official Community Plan to allow the SSI LTC to make new regulations for 
farming on lands that are outside of the Agricultural Land Reserve, but only if those proposed regulations are for the 
purpose of water quality protection. 
 
Bylaw 487 applies to land in the Rural Watershed 1 and 2 zones. These are the areas that surround the Island’s main 
drinking water lakes: St. Mary, Cusheon, Maxwell, Stowel, and Weston. Bylaw 487 amends the Salt Spring Island Land 
Use Bylaw to remove “intensive agriculture” as a permitted use in the watershed zones, introduces a 15 metre setback 
from water bodies for agriculture in the watershed zones, and also introduces a 30 metre setback from water bodies in 
all zones for storing hazardous materials used in farm operations. 
 
For more information: 
 
 To view Bylaws 496 and 487 and to learn more about this project, visit the project webpage here 
 See the final report from the Agriculture in Rural Watershed Zones Working Group here. 
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The Islands Trust is a federation of local government bodies representing 26,000 people living within the Islands Trust 
Area and another 10,000 non-resident property-owners. The Islands Trust is responsible for preserving and protecting 
the unique environment and amenities of the Islands Trust Area through planning and regulating land use, 
development management, education, co-operation with other agencies, and land conservation. The area covers the 
islands and waters between the British Columbia mainland and southern Vancouver Island

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