The principles for amending the existing Abbotsford/Mission water agreement and reallocating water supplies will soon be outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two communities.
Announced on Thursday, the draft is also meant to reflect the longstanding co-operation between the two communities in the areas of water supply, wastewater treatment, transit and recycling, said Abbotsford Mayor George Peary.
The Abbotsford Mission Water Sewer Commission, of which Peary is the chair, will be writing the document.
While Abbotsford intends to move forward with the Stave Lake Water Project alone, subject to referendum approval, Peary said they respect Mission’s decision not to support the Public-Private Partnership (P3) model.
“In the spirit of continued co-operation, the MOU will address Mission’s future water supply needs, which would come from existing water sources, as well as Abbotsford’s needs, which would come from both the existing and the new Stave Lake source,” said Peary.
Mission Mayor James Atebe added that the current intent is for Mission’s future water supply to come from Abbotsford’s share of Norrish Creek water once the Stave Lake project is operational.