A local non-profit is hoping the district will get the developer of a new mixed-use subdivision to extend a water line to the campground on Centennial Way.
John Harvey, the executive director of Mamquam River Access Society (MRAS), is hopeful that Community Amenity Contributions from Anthem Properties’s new development will provide a water line to the campground for safe drinking water and proper fire suppression.
The water line would cost $350,000, he says.
“The district has heard us on the importance of a water line up Centennial Way, not just for our campground but for the gun range and the horse stables,” Harvey says.
Harvey has been running the affordable campground on seven acres of crown land besides the Mamquam River since 2018. The campground charges $15 per night per drive-in site and $10 per night per walk-in site.
There can be more than 200 people per night at the campground in a busy season, who have to ferry their own water from the nearby Brennan Park Recreation Centre.
A drinking water well at the site is expensive, and Vancouver Coastal Health would require water testing every week.
“An independent stand-alone water purification system is a lot of money, and we need safe and clean drinking water here,” Harvey says.
The need for fire suppression is an equally critical issue.
The campground has 40 fire pits and only a small water tank for fire safety, which won’t last long if a fire breaks out.
With a proper water line, the district fire service would also have to depend on a water tank. The fire service has a water tanker that can last for about 20 minutes with some back up from the water tank on site, Harvey says.
“Come back in June here and we are packed solid with 30 or 40 fires going so you can understand the need here for a proper fire suppression system,” he says.
He says the district hasn’t made any promises on the water line but he is hopeful.
“We are cautiously optimistic that we will get help with water that we badly need here,” he says.
