Bluewater Park Upgrade Project FAQ

Questions about the Bluewater Park Water Upgrade Project?

Here are the facts.

Download this page as a PDF.

What is happening with the Bluewater Park Upgrade Project?

At the July 22, 2024 Council meeting, staff recommended that Council award a construction contract to NB Contracting Ltd., a Gibsons based company with utility infrastructure experience, to complete the watermain and well upgrade project in Bluewater Park.  The NB Contracting Ltd. bid was significantly lower than all other submissions, but still slightly over budget.

The total project budget is $4,302,769.  This includes design and consulting fees, and a 10% allowance for contingency.  As a means to keep the project within available budget, approximately $200,000 of non-essential, optional elements were removed from the project, and the use of up to $350,000 of Growing Community Grant Funds was approved by Council.   

The Project Budget includes:

Watermain & Culvert replacement	$2,878,581
Well upgrades	$646,664
Contingency 10%	$352,524
Design & Consulting Fees	$425,000
Total Project Budget	$4,302,769

 Funding for the Project is coming from the following sources:

Bluewater Park Loan Proceeds	$3,100,000
Municipal contribution for culverts & fire hydrants	$820,817
Use of Municipal Growing Community Grant Funds	$350,000
Use of Bluewater Park Reserve Funds	$31,952
Total Project Funding	$4,302,769

What is an LSA?

LSA stands for Local Service Area.  It is a geographic area within a municipality that is established to deliver a specific service, such as water, exclusively to the residents within its boundaries.  Residents within the boundaries of the LSA are responsible for the full cost of providing the service, including regular operating expenses and all costs for infrastructure upgrade and replacement.

According to Bowen Island Municipality’s Letters Patent, when the municipality incorporated in 1999, Cove Bay, Eagle Cliff, Hood Point, Tunstall Bay, Bowen Bay, Bluewater Park, and the Snug Cove Sewer system were all established under this LSA model. King Edward Bay LSA was established in 2007 by Bowen Island Municipality Bylaw No. 206. 

More information on Local Service Areas can be found here.

What is the difference between Local Service Revenues and General Municipal Revenues?

Local Service Revenues are funds that have been collected exclusively from the property owners within an LSA (e.g. Utility Bills) and are used to support the provision of the local service.

General Municipal Revenues are paid by all property owners (e.g. Property Taxes) and are used to provide services to all Island residents.

Who pays for the Bluewater Park Project?

Most of the Bluewater Park Upgrade project exclusively serves the residents of the Bluewater Park LSA and will be paid for with Local Service Revenues.

The portions of the project relating to culvert and fire hydrant installation are considered Island-wide municipal assets and are therefore paid for by General Municipal Revenues.

To complete watermain construction, an additional $350,000 of General Municipal Revenues are required. This shortfall will be addressed with the use of Growing Communities Grant funds.  On July 22, 2024, in a 4-3 vote, Council decided that Bluewater Park property owners would be required to repay this amount.  A reasonable timeline and method for repayment has yet to be determined. See the Council discussion on this item here at 01:12:30.

Have other LSA projects been funded with General Municipal Revenues?

Yes.  $1.1 million was loaned from General Municipal Revenues to Cove Bay Water LSA to help fund the construction of the water treatment plant.  This amount is being repaid through Cove Bay Local Service Revenues over a ten-year period and will be fully repaid by 2030.

The Snug Cove Wastewater Treatment plant upgrade cost $1.75 million.  In recognition of the support that this project provided to amenities located in Snug Cove, Council determined that this project was of partial benefit to all Island residents.  As a result, Council transferred $985,000 of General Municipal Revenues to the Snug Cove Sewer LSA without a requirement for repayment.  The remaining $762,000 was loaned to the Snug Cove Sewer LSA from General Municipal Revenues and will be fully repaid by 2028. 

Why did the Municipality decide to award the project to NB Contracting Ltd?  Are they qualified to undertake the project?

NB Contracting Ltd. has been in business for almost 30 years and has completed numerous projects of similar scope on the Sunshine Coast within both the Private and Public sectors.  They are qualified to undertake the project.

The Bluewater Park Watermain & Culvert Replacement project was combined with the Eagle Cliff-Cove Bay connection project, and publicly tendered. The tender closed on July 5^th, 2024.  The Municipality received five bids for the combined project, ranging in price from $5.9 million to $10.7 million.

NB Contracting Ltd. was the low bid, coming in $2.8 million lower than the next highest bidder.

Noting this price discrepancy, staff spoke with NB Contracting Ltd. to ensure the submission included all required project elements within the quoted price. NB Contracting Ltd. stood behind their bid.

Further inquiries were made of the engineering consultant, Urban Systems, who confirmed they have worked with NB Contracting Ltd.  previously with no concerns.

Senior engineering staff at the District of Sechelt and the Town of Gibsons were then contacted to inquire about their experience working with NB Contracting Ltd. on projects of a similar scope. Again, the feedback received was positive.

A staff report (p.83)  was brought to Council at the July 22, 2024 meeting recommending the project be awarded to NB Contracting Ltd. Council accepted the staff recommendation and awarded the contract.

What are the risks if the project is paused and not awarded?

The project must proceed.  The watermain replacements and well upgrades are required to ensure an uninterrupted supply of drinking water to properties in the Bluewater Park LSA.  Cancellation of the project will result in additional cost escalations due to time delays and scope changes.

Does the project budget include rock blasting?

Yes.  The bid includes an allowance for unknown project elements such as rock blasting and tree removal.  The approved project budget includes funding for the full quoted amount for these items. 

The design phase of the project included the use of ground penetrating radar to identify areas that could require blasting.  With this information, the project was designed in a way to avoid areas where possible that would require blasting. 

Staff believe the budget allowance for these elements to be generous, and expect the full amount will likely not be spent. 

How does the deferral of the Captains Way work impact property owners?

Not at all.  There are two watermains currently serving residents on Captain’s Way.  An older, 2-inch watermain connects the homes and provides the properties with water for domestic purposes such as washing and drinking.  A newer 6-inch watermain runs parallel to this line and is connected to the fire hydrants for the area.  This 6-inch line already in place provides the fire protection and is in good condition and is not planned to be replaced at this time.

The Captain’s Way workplan contemplated switching over the domestic connections from the old 2-inch to the newer 6-inch watermain.  This would enable the municipality to abandon the old line, eliminating the need to maintain aged infrastructure, and reducing the potential for water leaks. 

This non-essential, optional phase of the project has been removed from NB Contracting’s initial scope of work as a cost saving measure.  The switchovers will be completed at a later date, potentially by the Contractor should there be available budget remaining at the end of the project, or on a future rolling basis by our own municipal staff.  This work is not complex, and municipal crews have performed some of the Captain’s Way switchovers in the past.

Have the King Edward Bay wells been compromised?

No. One of the King Edward Bay wells (TW01) was taken off-line due to high turbidity in the water.  Investigations revealed that the pump in this well was significantly oversized and the discharge pipe had a hole in it.   A camera was sent down the well and did not reveal any other issues.  A smaller pump has been installed to better align with capacity and prevent stress on the well.  The discharge pipe has been replaced which we expect will address the turbidity issue.

Municipal staff are in the process of testing the new pump to ensure that the issues have been resolved prior to putting this well back into service.  There have not been any issues with the other two active KEB wells, which continue to function as intended.

When were the decisions made?