The Whitecroft Water Users Society’s latest well project is flowing ahead after a series of obstacles.
Since its formation in 1995, when the village got its first well, the non-profit organization has finished one capital project — adding reservoirs to its water system — and it’s hoping to complete more.
The family of the late Nanci Wilson, a longtime community member, donated land designated for the society’s new well as a playground in her name, for kids in the neighborhood to enjoy.
The water users society — the community non-profit which maintains the village’s water supply — has now drilled the well and are waiting on a few last steps before it can start running and get connected to Whitecroft’s water system.
Drilling a new well
The quality of water in the village’s current well has been decreasing, explained Marc Smith, the society’s secretary and treasurer, adding that it’s natural for that to occur in this type of well.
In 2020, the society created a five-year plan, spearheaded by two of the group’s directors at the time, Bill and Avril Brock.
“Part of that five-year plan was a big capital investment to put a new well in place,” Smith said.
A qualified professional with B.C. Groundwater Consulting Services helped guide the group through the process of getting this well in place and working, which included a series of steps.
The society needed to enter lengthy negotiations with the province’s ministry of transportation, which agreed to move land they owned dedicated to the build of a future road. Their land encompassed where Whitecroft’s pump house sits on one side of the property donated for the well and Nanci Wilson park, but agreed to move their road dedication to the other side of the park to avoid future problems down the road if they decided to build.
Next, the Whitecroft Water Users Society had to negotiate a statutory right of way for Telus, ensuring the land was set up for the park and addition to the water system.
The new well was drilled in mid-2024, about 15 metres away from the old well and nearly 84 metres deep, surpassing the old well’s depth by over 30 metres.
This well’s pipe is wider too, Smith explained, with adequate water flow and enough pressure to bring water to the surface without having to pump it.
The team also built an insulated shed to protect the well from winter weather conditions in just a week.
Next steps for the Whitecroft Water Users Society
Now the non-profit is waiting on source water approval from Interior Health, which must determine that the well water is drinkable as a public water source.
“New drinking water sources need to be assessed to identify and avoid potential contamination,” the health authority states on its website. “Selection and protection of a high quality water source is the first and most important step in ensuring clean, safe, and reliable drinking water.”
By doing tests and samples every three metres, B.C. Groundwater’s efforts are meant to ensure the new well is ready to be approved as a drinking water source — the next step closer to the well operating.
And Smith said the water users society has already gathered all the sampling data to make sure the well has appropriate water flow and recovery rates — how long it takes to restore a water source’s levels after the pump shuts off.
If it’s approved, they’ll then need a construction permit to add a pump to the well, tying it into the village’s main water system.
Water users pay a fee to access their drinking water, of which a portion is put into a reserve trust fund for system improvements.
“Getting this well drilled and implemented was done just through member funding and years of collecting and saving in our reserve trust,” Smith said. “Now this next phase, we have to buy a pump, put that pump in and tie it to the main systems.”
He believes this can be funded through additional reserves and loans from their bank.
“Our concern is, if there is a large kind of requirement for treatment, then that adds a whole other dynamic and cost to us,” he said about the expected decision from Interior Health.
Discussions about potential grant applications, which are being co-ordinated with the Community Association of Whitecroft, are slated for an annual general meeting on April 12, when the organizations hope to have a better idea of the requirements for source water approval and its cost.
“This is a major project that the community has really rallied around to make it happen.”
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