The Lund Waterworks District is a Water Improvement District servicing the residents of Lund, B.C. and is currently in receivership. The qathet Regional District has no financial affiliations with the Lund Waterworks District and does not have any part in operating this system or service. This page is being provided strictly as an information sharing tool to support the Lund Waterworks District and the service users in the Lund area.
The Provincial Government requires that “An improvement district must make adequate provision in advance to renew works when they require renewal and must raise amounts for that purpose” (BC Local Government Act Section 607). To comply with this requirement, Lund Waterworks is establishing a Parcel Tax to raise money for infrastructure replacement, including debt retirement should qathet Regional District receive a Federal/Provincial Infrastructure grant for the Lund Water System. To establish a Parcel Tax, an assessment roll must be established, and authenticated, to determine groupings of parcels within the Lund Waterworks District.
Assessment Roll Bylaw No. 52, 2023, groups parcels of land as follows:
| Group 1: | Each and every parcel of land to which water can be supplied from the existing works of the Lund Waterworks District. |
| Group 2: | Each and every parcel of land which is installed one connection to the existing works of the Lund Waterworks District. |
| Group 3: | Each and every parcel of land which is installed two connections to the existing works of the Lund Waterworks District. |
| Group 4: | Each and every parcel of land which is installed three connections to the existing works of the Lund Waterworks District. |
| Group 5: | Each and every parcel of land which is installed four connections to the existing works of the Lund Waterworks District. |
| Group 6: | Each and every parcel of land which is installed five or more connections to the existing works of the Lund Waterworks District. |
| Group 7: | Each and every parcel of land to which water is supplied from the existing works of the Lund Waterworks District which has a connection size larger than one-and one-half inch (1.5”) and smaller than three-inches (3.0”). |
| Group 8: | Each and every parcel of land to which water is supplied from the existing works of the Lund Waterworks District which has a connection size three inches (3.0”) or larger. |
| Group 9: | Each and every parcel of land within the Lund Waterworks District not classified into Group 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. |
The “LWD Assessment Roll Bylaw 52 Map” below, shows each parcel of land within the boundaries of the Lund Waterworks District and designates that parcel of land into one of the above groups. If there is a difference between the 2023 Assessment Roll and the Map, the 2023 Assessment Roll will prevail.
If you disagree with how a parcel of land has been grouped, and you are a landowner within the Lund Waterworks District, you may make a complaint to the Court of Revision, by emailing LWDAssessor@gmail.com, or by attending the meeting of the Court of Revision at 10:00 am on Saturday, June 24, 2023, at the Lund Community Hall.
| LWD 2023 Assessment Roll | LWD Assessment Roll Bylaw 52 Map |
Materials from the meetings are available below:
The qathet Regional District and Lund Waterworks District recently completed an engineering assessment of the Lund Waterworks District system infrastructure. The goal of this assessment is to accurately determine the costs and scope of work required to bring the Lund Waterworks District system into compliance with required regulations to provide safe, reliable, secure, quality, and healthy potable drinking water. This assessment is being published to provide ratepayers with a realistic cost estimate for upgrading and maintaining the Lund Waterworks District system.
The assessment also provided the qathet Regional District with a clear understanding of the Lund Waterworks District’s current state of affairs, costs and liabilities should the qathet Regional District opt to convert the Lund Waterworks District service to a Regional District service. For more information on Improvement District conversion, please visit the Province of British Columbia website.
Contacts
Questions regarding the Engineering Report or Lund Waterworks District Open House can be directed to:
Tom Day, Receiver, Lund Waterworks District
Mail: PO Box 113, Lund, BC, V0N 2G0
Phone: 604-935-9555
Email: lundwaterdistrict@gmail.com
Questions relating to the qathet Regional District’s involvement can be directed to:
Al Radke, Chief Administrative Officer, qathet Regional District
Mail: #202 – 4675 Marine Avenue, Powell River, BC V8A 2L2
Phone: 604-485-2260
Email: administration@qathet.ca
Background
The Lund Waterworks District System is in need of substantial infrastructure upgrades. The Lund Waterworks District has not had a quorum of Trustees since December 2020. On February 23, 2022, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs appointed a receiver to the Lund Waterworks District, Tom Day. Mr. Day provided an introduction letter explaining his role and desired service delivery outcomes for the Lund Waterworks District.
The qathet Regional District worked closely with the Lund Waterworks District in 2019 to submit a grant application to fully fund infrastructure upgrades. This application was unsuccessful. In January of 2022, Deputy Minister Tara Faganello encouraged the qathet Regional District to submit an application for the final intake of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – Environmental Quality Program. The qathet Regional District submitted a grant application for funding support, on behalf of the Lund Waterworks District, and later updated the application to include the engineering assessment and the qRD’s position regarding the restoration of the Lund Waterworks District.
The qathet Regional District does not have a service establishing bylaw in place to own or operate the Lund Waterworks System nor did it have jurisdiction over it as part this grant stream. If successful in the application, the public should be aware that grant funding will not fully cover the costs of the Lund Waterworks District upgrade. The remaining costs will need to be covered by Lund Waterworks District ratepayers.
qRD Staff Reports Concerning the Lund Waterworks District
Improvement Districts
Improvement Districts are independently governed and operated services, run on an individual basis by primarily volunteer run organizations. Improvement Districts are not managed by municipalities or regional districts. These organizations were established by the Province of British Columbia and empowered to carry out the necessary administration and operation of small vital community services ranging from fire protective services to water. Improvement Districts providing water have their systems tested by Vancouver Coastal Health and may be subject to further testing by the improvement district operator.
To learn more about Improvement Districts, please visit the Province of British Columbia website.