First Nations band and White Rock in spat over water
Posted September 15, 2016 11:25 pm.
Last Updated September 15, 2016 11:48 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WHITE ROCK (NEWS 1130) – The Semiahmoo First Nation is raising the alarm over its water supply, saying the city of White Rock is about to turn it off.
A letter sent to the band says water services will be withdrawn in 18 months.
“I need somewhere to get water and sanitary services. The only neighbour we have is to the east at the City of Surrey,” says band councillor Joanne Charles, who points out switching providers would take about three years.
But Mayor Wayne Baldwin says that’s a worst-case-scenario – if negotiations between the two fail.
“It was a bargaining position that we put forward,” he says. “There is an informal agreement for water services and we want to formalize it. We expect the reserve to pay for it like our own citizens pay for the water.”
The spat over water also involves access to a pump station, which is located on the reserve.
In March the city was told it could not maintain the station, as it was considered trespassing.
“The city of White Rock does not provide any payment to the nation for the use of that on their land,” says Charles.
Baldwin says replacing the station would cost millions of dollars and in light of the situation, the city should be compensated for providing water.
Incidentally, people on the reserve have had to boil their water since 2005. Charles says water infrastructure has to be replaced and they’re working with the federal government to do that.
