Water Sources and Usage at Forbes Hall Community Centre
Friday, March 28, 2025 at 7:46AM Following the Future of Water on Thetis event at Forbes Hall, we thought it might be interesting for islanders to know more about the Hall’s water sources and use.
Lot 292 well water turbidity levels fluctuate (depending on use and many other factors) but are typically well beyond acceptable standards. The last full scan of sampled well water, taken May 2017, showed TDS (total dissolved solids), Fluoride, Aluminium, Iron, Lead and Manganese all well above acceptable levels (in addition to turbidity being a confounding factor in all sampling). This prompted TICA to start having water delivered. The 2017 sample was drawn from the kitchen, which is after sanitation using Chlorine (worth noting, as typically prior to this the sampling was all done directly from the well head in all previous cases, but Island Health changed their requirements). There are theories as to why the levels in metals etc. were so high, but regardless the easiest and most cost-effective way to deal with this was to have water delivered. All the drilled wells in the near vicinity of the Hall have the same issues with water quality.
Currently, stored rainwater is used in the toilets, urinal, and for irrigation at the Hall. Rainwater is collected from about 30% of the roof area, with storage capacity of about 62,000 litres.
2024 usage numbers are:
Potable water usage 2200 litres per month (2 water deliveries/year)
Non-potable water usage 4300 litres/month or 52,000 litres/year
The estimate is that there will continue to be two water deliveries a year for the near future. 2025 will be the first year with the rainwater system fully online because of the increased storage capacity.
Island Health doesn’t have a particular policy regarding using rainwater for potable water, they follow the provincial guidelines: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/air-land-water/water/waterquality/how-drinking-water-is-protected-in-bc/dwog_part_b_-_14_rainwater_harvested_for_potable_use.pdf
Island Health is responsible for ensuring guidelines are adhered to and this falls to our local environmental health officer. Interaction with the local Health Inspection office has become more difficult over the years, and currently it would take considerable effort to get Forbes Hall Community Centre approved to use rainwater for its potable water supply. In addition, the infrastructure costs and increased maintenance and monitoring requirements would be significant. This may be an area that an interested islander might take on and champion.
Providing this information to the community is important as the hall is used by most, and Forbes Hall Community Centre is for all islanders to use and enjoy.
TICA Board
