Hatzic Valley
The highest point in McConnell Creek, and also the Hatzic Valley perimeter as defined by the FVRD above, is the summit of Mount St Benedict at 1,278 meters above sea level.
[6] Miracle Valley[7] is a 160 acres (0.65 km2) private parcel of land located at 14100 Stave Lake Road within the McConnell Creek community.
The facility ran into financial difficulties and closed in 2010,[9] it was sold to become Khalsa Centre, a cultural retreat/campground[10] with an attached blueberry farm.
[11] Historically, Hatzic Prairie was first occupied by members of the Kwantlen (formerly Sto:lo) First Nations as a summer camping place.
[13] The name "Hatzic Prairie" is due to renaming by Livingstone Thompson after Ralph Burton sold the land, a sale which, as mentioned above, would not have occurred but for flooding of the area by the Fraser River.
[15][16][17] Because of historical issues with flooding, extensive studies have been completed regarding potential floodwater impact on lower-lying Fraser Valley communities.
"[20] In commenting on the maps published under Phase 1 of the LMFMS, The Hope Standard observed that "the deepest floodwaters would swamp the north and east of Hatzic Lake, in and around Dewdney and Deroche on the north side of the Fraser River, and the Glen Valley in northwest Abbotsford and northeast Langley, where many areas could see flood waters rise three metres or more above ground.
"[21] The second phase of the LMFMS program consists of multiple projects, and has the purpose of "developing a long-term strategy", having an expected completion date of late 2020/ early 2021.
However Tom Millard, geomorphologist, indicates in his 2013 paper titled "Hatzic Region Hydrology and Watershed Stability Assessment" that the low vulnerability aquifer may not replenish as readily as the others because of its lower permeability.
Expansion of the current FVRD supply system is an ongoing concern, with a number of studies and academic publications probing sustainability and hydrogeological issues.
[2] As of March 2019 the FVRD has indicated, notwithstanding concerns regarding sustainability, that construction of an additional well will commence immediately in order to avoid potential loss of a financial grant by the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund.
