The Kamloops Indian Band has finished a major capital project which will help encourage future development.
A new reservoir above Chief Louis Way will provide adequate water service to 900 acres of landing, spanning several kilometres from Paul Creek near the Halston Connector to Rayleigh, on the east side of Highway 5.
KIB planning and engineering manager John ter Borg says a reliable water supply is essential for community safety.
“Like for fire protection. It’s one of the reasons why ISC was willing to fund this, because it had those social benefits. Some of the developments down below are limited, or they were limited, in what you could construct. Because the buildings can not be larger than a certain size, because the fire protection wasn’t there.”
Chief Rosanne Casimir says there has been substantial interest from businesses who have approached the band, looking to develop land for light industrial use.
The band has a master plan for an area known as “7 Mile,” which includes 200 acres of developable land with easy highway access.
“We know we have a lot of land that is going to be now available, and is going to be open for business. So with us, it’s about getting the word out there. And the biggest component and the biggest hurdle has always been infrastructure, and this here is definitely one of the ways to fill that void,” Casimir says.
Ter Borg says the two cells have room to hold six million litres of water. He says the reservoir is built to accommodate future growth.
“So only one of the cells is actually going to be filled and operating. And when growth on the land down below requires it, it is expected to be brought on board. So it’s really a forward-looking project as well. It’s a lot more economical to build what you need now than to build something else again in the future.
The reservoir cost $4.8 million, with Indigenous Services Canada funding a quarter of the cost. The rest of the funding came from the development cost charges from the KIB, which says it is the first Indigenous Community in Canada to use DCCs for a major capital project.
