May 1 Council Notes: Keeping Infrastructure in a State of Good Repair. Carwash Water, Residential Properties, and Watercourse Health.

At the April 17th Langley City Council meeting, Council approved an update to modernize our sewer and storm sewer regulations, including implementing best practices in storm sewer management. One of the changes strengthed the wording around disallowing car wash water to flow into a storm sewer, onto a street, a neighbouring property, or directly into a watercourse as even biodegradable soaps negatively impact the water quality of salmon-bearing streams, creeks, and rivers.

This proposed requirement would have applied to all properties in the City.

Based on some public feedback and the fact that the City doesn't have the resource to police people's car washing, staff put forward an amendment to the updated sewer and storm sewer regulations which still bans car wash water from going into the storm sewer for non-residential property, but updates the requirements for residential properties.

For residential properties, you can wash your car with the recommendation that the rinse water "should preferably be directed away from storm sewer drains to a landscaped, grass or gravel area." Still, detergents and cleaners (including biodegradable or phosphate-free ones) shouldn't enter storm sewer drains.

For residential properties, there will be no fine even if detergents and cleaners end up flowing into the storm sewer drain. The residential regulations around car washing, detergents and cleaners are advisory. Of course, you would still negatively impact the health of the watercourse ecosystem in our community and negatively impact salmon and other wildlife.

Council gave third reading to update the sewer and storm sewer regulations and associated bylaws last night with the noted amendments. For more information, please read a previous blog post.

Council also gave first, second, and third reading to update the Parks and Public Facilities Regulation Bylaw to allow the consumption of liquor in selected parks and public facilities. You can read more about this in a previous post.

Council gave final reading to the 2023 Tax Rate Bylaw and Floodplain Elevation Bylaw Amendment. You can read more about these in a previous post.

Council approved awarding a tender to Mar-Tech Underground Services Ltd. for $650,564.80 (excluding GST.) This tender is one of half of the City's $1.4 million works program to fix issues with 270 pipe sections of our sanitary sewer system this year. This work is part of our overall program to keep our basic infrastructure in a state of good repair.