The Beddis Water Service Committee’s chair says her group is finally about to get some answers to explain what went wrong with water-system upgrades overseen by the Capital Regional District.

Zwanette Pereboom told Salt Spring Water Council members on Friday that the CRD has promised to conduct an audit and legal review of how it went about initiating and completing upgrades to the Beddis water system.

“There is no fiasco,” she said. “We are all on the same page now.”

After seven months spent trying to get explanations for cost overruns and questionable procurement procedures, Pereboom said, it appears senior CRD staff have finally gotten the message.

Pereboom said BWSC representatives heard of the CRD’s intentions during a meeting between the two groups on Jan. 22.

The BWSC came under the CRD’s jurisdiction in 2004 as a way to access federal-provincial infrastructure funds for system upgrades.

But costs for the work ballooned from $800,000 to $1.2 million, and a further $500,000 to $800,000 is required to complete the project, according to the BWSC.

The water district serves approximately 127 subscribers.

Despite news of the audit, Pereboom said, she and many others within the BWSC are concerned the faulty construction process may still prove costly to district property owners.

“I’m concerned that irregularities may make subscribers liable for any system failures over the coming years,” she said.

At this point, however, Pereboom is satisfied that BWSC’s pressure has made the CRD take initial steps towards remedying the situation.

She anticipates CRD staff will abide by its own procurement policy and other regulations from now on.

“As far as we are concerned, this has been done out of ignorance, not out of malice,” she added.

Colwyn Sunderland, a local services engineer for the CRD, was not available for comment.