The CRD has initiated an Alternative Approval Process (AAP) to borrow the money to pay for the improvements for Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, View Royal, Langford, and Colwood, along with the Xʷsepsəm (Kosapsum) and Songhees nations, which are serviced by the wastewater system.If the AAP is successful, the CRD will use the loan to repair or replace aging infrastructure, including sewers, chambers, and manholes, and to upgrade the Shoreline Trunk Sewer, which collects wastewater from smaller municipal street pipes and conveys it to the treatment facility.
The total Core Area Wastewater capital plan for 2026–2030 is $100 million, up to $59 million of which is currently planned to be funded through borrowing.
Under an AAP, approval is granted unless at least 10% of affected residents submit a completed elector response form indicating they don’t agree. In this case, that would be 25,259 residents opposed.
AAPs are often used in BC—where voter approval is needed to advance major projects—instead of referendums, because they are cheaper. This AAP runs until the end of the day on July 31, 2026.
Elector response forms can be found here
