Mayor Ruttan Claims Coming Water Crisis

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 In Seven Years There Will Be A Water Shortage

The following quote comes from an article in the Vancouver Province which is dealing with the need for water metering in British Columbia cities:

All new construction in Nanaimo has to be metered, said Mayor John Ruttan. The meters are paid for through development cost charges and he's hopeful the entire city will one day be metered.

Even with metering, Nanaimo is heading toward a water crisis.
"Our engineers tell us (that) in 2020, demand will exceed supply," said Ruttan

This pending crisis does not seem to be one of those issues Mayor Ruttan's council seems too preoccupied with, given the recent decision to supply Lantzville with city water.

If this predicted crisis is in fact accurate it would raise the question if it is economical as a community to encourage the growth that will drive the demand for this increased water supply. Clearly supplying more water than we currently have access to would be a very expensive proposition.

As a community we need to decide if growth simply for growth's sake is sound economics. Of course it is sound economics if you are a developer or in the construction business but whether it benefits the community at large is an issue needing serious consideration. Whether this current council has the skill set to meet the challenge is a question for another time.