The Town of Sidney is set to become the first municipality in the Capital Regional District that is fully ready to deliver safe drinking water to the community from a secondary source in the event of a disaster, such as an earthquake or wildfire. Access to clean drinking water is essential to support public health and during the disaster recovery process.
The Town has acquired a water tanker truck and water storage bladders. The CRD has 14 blue hydrants in the region connected to seismically resilient pipes fed by reservoirs. Until now, the Town lacked a way to distribute water from these hydrants to an estimated 13,500 community members and visitors, if needed.
The Town’s goal is to be equipped to provide an emergency supply of 4 litres of water per person per day for at least five days, through stations (known as Community Points of Distribution, or “CPODs”) that are located near most residents.
In 2025, the Town will be installing steel storage containers with decorative screening at three locations in Sidney:
The containers will serve as Community Points of Distribution for safe drinking water, with the option for expansion to distribute other emergency supplies.
This emergency preparedness work is made possible through a grant from the Province under the Disaster Resilience and Innovation Funding program and the BC Growing Communities Fund.