multi-centre support PAGE A3 – 7
Freemason politicians PAGE A11
3-d archery shoot PAGE A16
OBSERVER QUESNEL - CARIBOO
SINCE 1908
Friday, May 31, 2013
City remains positive AUTUMN MacDONALD Observer Reporter After provincial media made “negative� remarks regarding the status of the West Quesnel Land Stability Program, the city is remaining positive. “We had a great turn out for the West Quesnel Land Stability meeting and I believe, with the very preliminary results on the de-watering, it looks positive as we move forward with the balance of the project,� mayor Mary Sjostrom said. “As a city we were  disappointed in the Provincial  media coverage that was alarming to our residents. We have been open and transparent in this process and have involved our property owners in every step of the way and will continue to do so as we move forward.� More than 70 Quesnel residents attended the open house last week to learn more about the stability program. City staff and engineering consultants were on hand to speak with residents as well as provide an overview of the program’s progress. “Engineering studies have indicated that removing groundwa-
ter from the area will stabilize the land to a manageable level,� the city stated. The 2012 full-scale dewatering program was a $4.731 million project designed to help reduce land movement in the West Quesnel Land Stability study area. 
A review of the 2012 works was presented, which included geotechnical, civil and environmental works. The geotechnical and civil works included 13 productive pumping wells, 13 monitoring wells, 10 horizontal drain sites consisting of approximately 64 drains, major storm drainage work on Hawk and Stork Avenues and the installation of connection piping on all pumping wells and horizontal drains to carry the water from these wells off site. Environmental work consisted of monitoring the ponds in the area for water levels and quality, vegetation, amphibians and birds.
The monitoring system takes into account surface movement, groundwater levels, flow data from the horizontal drains and pumping wells, and precipitation data. “The completion of this phase and the continuous monitor-
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ing of the area would not be possible without our federal and provincial partners and for their financial support and commitment to the project we are grateful,� Sjostrom said. “The West Quesnel Land Stability issue is and will continue to be a top priority of council, “From a preliminary perspective, these first monitoring results are an indication that our previous trial programs were
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on the right track and we are optimistic about the eventual outcome. Thank you again to the residents and property owners in the study area who have supported and worked with us throughout the process.
 “I strongly support the efforts of City staff and engineers for their geotechnical and civil works and commend them for their environmental leadership throughout this process,� Coun. Mike
Cave added. “I too feel confident of the work we are doing and look forward to the next steps.�
Ongoing monitoring in the key areas will continue for the next 12 to 14 months and will include all new and existing installations as well as 134 automated instruments generating data by the minute and 47 quarterly GPS readings. Once the 2013 annual monitoring report is submitted, we will be better able to assess
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what effects the fullscale dewatering program has had.
More than $3.154 million was provided by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia, through the Building Canada Fund-Communities Component program, part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan for this project. The City of Quesnel also contributed more than $1.557 million to pay for the full-scale dewater-
ing program. In addition to federal and provincial contributions, the City of Quesnel has invested more than $2.1 million on the West Quesnel Land Stability Program since 2000. The city said next steps include interpreting the data, further design work, addressing deficiencies and lobbying senior levels of government for continued financial partnership.
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