The Capital Regional District is asking residents to give their say on a proposed $34.84 million loan to fix aging sewers, pump stations, and treatment systems in the Core Area and Western Communities. The online feedback process launched June 18, 2026, and runs until July 31 at 4:30 p.m. If fewer than 25,259 voters submit opposition forms, the borrowing goes ahead automatically.
The money would pay for core area sewer repairs, upgrades to the shoreline trunk sewer, renewals at pump stations, and design work for new carbonization technology at the Residuals Treatment Facility. That technology would turn biosolids into biochar instead of sending them to landfill. The total Core Area Wastewater capital plan for 2026 through 2030 sits at $100.05 million, with up to $59.29 million expected to come from borrowing.
Under the Alternative Approval Process, the loan can only be stopped if at least 10 percent of eligible voters in the CRD fill out and submit an elector response form by the deadline. The borrowing is authorized under Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 4699 and needs elector approval because the Local Government Act requires it before the CRD can take on long-term debt. Once the deadline passes, the results are expected to go before the CRD board on September 9, 2026.
While this process covers municipalities like Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, View Royal, Langford, and Colwood, it also matters for Salt Spring Island. The island is part of the CRD electoral areas, and regional infrastructure improvements can affect services and costs across the region. Salt Spring is already tackling its own wastewater challenges. The Maliview Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade is moving ahead separately to meet provincial rules, federal wastewater regulations, and the Fisheries Act. Property owners in the Maliview sewer service area approved their own borrowing bylaw in 2025, and the project has received $1,989,000 in joint federal-provincial money through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.
For Salt Spring residents, wastewater spending is already showing up on tax bills. A typical property valued just over $1 million will pay about $1,473 for CRD services this year, up from $1,361. That 8.2 percent increase partly reflects the work at the Ganges and Maliview plants. Residents who want to have a say on the regional borrowing plan can find details and submit feedback through the CRD’s online engagement portal before the July 31 deadline.
