Chapman Water Expansion
Brief History
The SCCA was born out of the successful campaign to protect the headwaters of the Chapman Creek Watershed within the Tetrahedron Provincial Park in 1995. Since then, we’ve worked consistently to protect the public’s right to control activity in our watersheds and manage them strictly for the purpose of providing safe, clean drinking water.
A defining moment for the SCCA was in the summer of 2007, when logging in the Chapman sparked a public uproar, with residents blockading logging roads and staging large demonstrations. In response, the SCCA initiated a citizens' public health complaint, which led to a series of ground-breaking legal actions – in partnership with the SCRD and West Coast Environmental Law.
Around 2012, a new threat emerged as the Coast began experiencing prolonged droughts in the summer months, which affected water levels in Chapman Lake. By 2015, the looming “water deficit” had reared its head as the SCRD enforced Coast wide emergency water restrictions for nearly six weeks. In 2017, we once again reached critical Stage 4 drought levels. In response, SCRD directors pressed forward with an ill-informed plan to remove Chapman Lake from the heart of the Tetrahedron Provincial Park to convert the lake into a drinking water storage reservoir.
The SCCA initiated another public campaign. We entreated the Province to stop the project and protect the Park and encouraged the SCRD to focus on conservation and source diversification. We engaged NGO allies from across BC including the CPAWS, The Wilderness Committee, Federation of BC Mountain Clubs, and worked with our MLA, Nicholas Simons to make our case to BC Minister of Environment, George Heyman.
Finally, in early 2019, Minister Heyman made his decision to reject the request to take land out of the Tetrahedron Provincial Park. The Minister reinforced our message to the SCRD encouraging it to continue researching alternative solutions beyond the use of Chapman Lake, to improve the existing water supply system.
Updates on Chapman Creek Expansion
Public Input sought on Chapman Creek Watershed
The Sunshine Coast Regional District is receiving public input on the new Source Assessment Response Plan (SARP) for the Chapman Creek drinking water watershed. The plan’s purpose is to enhance the protection of drinking water in the Chapman watershed, recognizing that under current legislation, completely eliminating industry altogether is not an option. The plan was […]
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