On Monday April 18, 2011 the Council discussed the bids for the Senanus water line. The cost will be borne by all Central Saanich residents who are on municipal water. The actual cost appears to be much higher than the District is saying. The Tender document shows that the hydrants are not included (around $50,000), even though fire protection is essential for the project. (Not that it matters, of course: it seems that most of the driveways are too long for hoses to be effective.)

Central Saanich council has agreed to repeal a bylaw that would have authorized the piping of municipal water along Mount Newton Cross Road to 22 homes on Senanus Drive...
Under the deal, the district will kill the bylaw and pay the legal fees in return for the Mount Newton Neighbourhood Association dropping its court action. (from "Settlement reached in Central Saanich pipe brouhaha" - Times Colonist, January 8, 2011)

Central Saanich council is borrowing against our future.
Read this article published in Peninsula News Review (Oct 8, 2010), and our opinion:

"Central Saanich council has approved a plan that should finally resolve longstanding water quality issues for residents of Senanus drive, in the northwest quadrant.

Mayor Jack Mar says the municipality will borrow a little over 1.4 million dollars, towards the 2.5 million dollar cost of a waterline that will be large enough to provide for firefighting as well as domestic use. The balance of the funding comes in the form of a federal-provincial infrastructure grant that was actually approved four years ago.
He says residents who's well water is good quality would not be required to connect to the municipal waterline. That should ease concerns of owners on Mt. Newton crossroad where the line must run in order to reach Senanus drive.

Mar says the borrowing plan does not require a referendum because the municipality's cash reserves actually exceed the amount required."

RRoCSs note:

The District has abandoned the original pipeline project, and has asked the Minister of Rural and Community development to quash the Local Service Area bylaw 1625. The District has also requested a Consent Dismissal Order, and is soon expected to settle out of court, and provide costs to the Mount Newton Neighborhood Association, whose Judicial Review succeeded in blocking the project. The Supreme Court case documents expose many errors, falsehoods and misleading representations that occured during the project petition process and the District's grant application process. Those documents also show that the proposed water main project is contrary to the District's Official Community Plan and CRD's Regional Growth Strategy, and that the Members of District Council have acted with bias, prejudice, lack of openness to alternative views, and have not provided public notice or an opportunity to be heard.

The trees on Mt. Newton X Road

May 2010 "Rise and Report" (Mayor Jack Mar): All future requested or proposed waterline extensions to service existing development be undertaken as "District projects", as opposed to Local Area Service /Local Improvement Projects... For all waterline extensions required to service new developments and subdivisions, the applicant continue to be responsible for constructing the required infrastructure and all associated costs.