Shellwood Water System

Shellwood Water System is located across the harbour, to the east of Ladysmith, in Area H. This small water systems services 31 residential properties.

Source, Treatment and Distribution

The source of water for Shellwood water system is a groundwater well that pumps water up to the treatment plant where the water receives chlorine disinfection. The water is then pumped to the reservoir where it is fed to the system as required by the customers.

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 sent to the on-duty pager to alert CVRD staff for immediate response.

Water Quality Tests

Shellwood Water System is sampled once a week. The following table shows the sampling frequency and parameters tested for the water system:

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

Fee Structure

Shellwood Water System is a fully metered water system and each connection has a water meter that records water use by customer. Water meters are read every three months and customers are charged according to their consumption. Current year budget information can be found here.

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 of the following conditions are met or in extraordinary circumstances, upon 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.

Undetected Leak Adjustment Application

In order to apply for an adjustment, an Undetected Leak Adjustment Application must be completed and submitted within 30 days of billing or leak discovery.

The process for submitting an Undetected Leak Adjustment Application is as follows:

1. Identify and repair the leak on your property.
2. Fill out the Undetected Leak Adjustment Application, found here.
3. Submit the completed application with supplemental materials (photos, invoices, etc.) to Utilities@cvrd.bc.ca.

Please note the following:

• An incomplete application and/or missing photos/invoices will result in a delay in processing the Undetected Leak Adjustment Application.
• Completion of this form does not guarantee that an adjustment will be granted.

This system does not currently have capacity for any additional connections or inclusions. Further development would require developer-funded system upgrades to create additional capacity.