Burnum Water System

Burnum Water System

Burnum water system is located between Cobble Hill and Shawnigan Lake, in Area B, and services 104 residential properties.

Source, Treatment and Distribution

Burnum water system receives its water from three groundwater wells. Due to the elevated levels of arsenic in the source water, a treatment system is installed at two of the wells to bring the arsenic level down to within the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines. The water also receives chlorine disinfection before being pumped to a 500 m3 reservoir and fed on demand to the community.

Critical equipment is monitored 24-hours a day for malfunctions, such as high or low chlorine levels or pump failures; if such an abnormality occurs, an alarm is immediately sent to the on-duty pager to alert CVRD-staff for immediate response.

Water Quality Testing

Burnum water system is sampled, at a minimum, once a week. The following table shows the sampling frequency and parameters tested for the water system:

FrequencyParameter TestedLaboratory
WeeklyBacterial (E. Coli and Total Coliforms)Samples are submitted to the Island Health Authority for testing by a provincial laboratory
Twice a yearArsenicBureau Veritas
AnnualFull spectrum analysis based on the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines. Sampling of the source and distribution is alternated each year.Bureau Veritas

Testing results can be found in the Annual Water Report completed each year.

Arsenic Sampling Results

Up-to-date arsenic sampling results can be found here.

Fee Structure

Burnum water system is a fully metered water system and has a water meter that records water used by each customer. Water meters are read every six months and customers are charged according to their consumption and based on the rates set out in the inclined block rate table (see below for details). Current year budget information can be found here.

Annual Charges

Billing PeriodMeter Reading DateUser Fees*
minimum payment (up to 200 m3)
Parcel Tax**Minimum Annual Fee
(User Fee and Parcel)
March 1 - August 31September 1$225.00

$520.00


$970.00
September 1 - February 28March 1$225.00

*User Fees are mailed out to each customers on the billing date stated above.

**Parcel Tax is charged once a year and is incorporated into the property tax for each customer.

Inclined Block Rate Table

User Fees 
Water Use (per billing period)Charge
0 - 200 m3$225.00
201 - 300 m3$225.00 + $1.00 per m3 over 200 m3
301 - 400 m3$325.00 + $1.50 per m3 over 300 m3
over 400 m3$475.00 + $10.00 per m3 over 400 m3


Undetected Leaks

Undetected Leaks will be considered in any buried service water line or water line in the building's walls. Plumbing fixtures are taps, toilets and hose bibs. 

User Charges may be adjusted where an undetected leak on the consumer’s property has resulted in water usage greatly exceeding typical usage of water, according to the applicable classification(s) and there is no indication that water was knowingly allowed to run to waste. A request for a leak adjustment may be granted if all the following conditions are met or in extraordinary circumstances approval of the Corporate Financial Officer or the Manager.

  1. The property owner has not been granted a leak adjustment in the last 5 years. 
  2. The leak was repaired within 30 days of billing or discovery of the leak;
  3. Written verification describing the nature of the leakage and the action taken to rectify the problem must be received by the Manager before a leak adjustment will be granted.

Where a leak adjustment is approved, User Charge adjustments will be determined as follows:

  1. If the leak is found in the service line, volumes from the 2 previous years, of the same billing cycle, will be averaged and charged. i.e. Average of 2 previous summers, if leak occurs in the summer.
  2. If the leak is associated with an in-home plumbing fixture or irrigation system, volumes from the 2 previous years, of the same billing cycle will be averaged plus 50% of the incremental water usage (between the average and the overage) will be charged to a maximum added value of $500.
  3. Subsequent leaks occurring within 5 years of the previous leak adjustment request will be eligible for the cap of $1,500 per single family dwelling equivalent, up to a maximum of $5,000. Where the average of the 2 previous years of the same billing cycle is greater than $5,000, the eligible cap will be 1.5 times the average.