Colwood has identified at least three sewage treatment sites, all on City-owned land.

The sites were approved as potential areas, however, council stressed the importance of proper public consultation before moving forward.

“Until we go out to the public I’m not going to vote for any of these sites,” said Mayor Dave Saunders. “By designating sites that the City actually owns already, you are not having that tax loss.”

The sites include city hall land at 3300 Wishart Rd., City-owned land along Metchosin Road and certain road rights-of-way. West Shore Parks and Recreation was also identified as a potential site, but would need unanimous support from all member municipalities.

The City will also consider proposals from developers to include a treatment facility as part of a larger project. That opens up the possibility of extra capacity to treat surrounding neighbourhoods, Saunders said.

The list will be forwarded to the Capital Regional District which is undertaking a proposed $715-million sewage treatment project. Colwood and Langford voted last month to develop a West Shore plan, either as a service within the CRD plan or as a independent sewage utility.

Langford and Colwood would build and operate their own facilities. Under a provincial mandate, the CRD has until 2016 to treat the region’s sewage, although the West Shore system could be in place before then, Saunders has said.

CRD-proposed site locations, including on private undeveloped land at Royal Bay, were selected without proper consultation with Colwood, Saunders said.

In that case, the City stood to lose tax revenue in perpetuity. It is important the City control its own sewage treatment to protect the best interests of its residents, he added.

“For the West Shore to have control, we are able to say it can be over in this corner and it has to be a certain way,” Saunders said.

In order to maximize control, Colwood is hopeful the province will accept representational sites instead of a hard locations by the end of the year.

The technology available is what will determine what land is needed and where, Saunders said. Choosing the sites before the technology does not make good business sense and is a waste of taxpayer money, he added.

If the province is not open to that approach, Colwood will have to undertake public consultation and designate one site before January.

The CRD must submit a business plan, with locations, to the province by the end of the year. A West Shore plan is expected to be submitted along with it.

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