Office Contact

Office Forms & Applications

Building Permit Application
Business License Application
Council Delegation Application
Demolition Permit
Development Permit Application
Development Variance Permit Application
Development Variance Permit Application Guide
Dog licence application
Liquor and Cannabis Licence Application
OCP Amendment Application
Rezoning Application- Form
Sign Permit Application
Temporary Use Application
Water and Sewer Connection Application

Administration Menu

Emergency Contacts

Police, Fire, Medical

911

Non-emergency

Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are responsible for law enforcement in the Municipality.
Phone: 250 692‑7171
Address: 147 Hwy 35
Mailing Address: PO Box 759 Burns Lake, BC V0J 1E0

Fire

Fire Chief: 250 692‑7587
In case of a wildfire contact the Ministry of Forests, Protection Branch
Call toll free 1 800 663‑5555 or *5555 on most cellular networks.
www.bcwildfire.ca

Medical

Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre 250 692‑2400
Burns Lake Medical Clinic 250 692‑3111

Public Works

The Public Works Crew maintains the local parks and the municipal entrance areas.

Water

Water

Water for the Village of Burns Lake is derived from 3 deep wells located on Gerow Island.  Water is pumped to the high lift station where it is chlorinated.  From there it is pumped to three towers, two on 5th Avenue and one on Woyenne Reserve.  From the 5th Avenue tower water is boosted in pressure and travels to the ends of the avenues and streets above Carroll Street.  The rest of the water is gravity fed from the towers, down hill to the main streets.

On average Burns Lake pumps 1100 cubic meters of water per day and this amount significantly spikes in summer due to lawn watering.

In 2020, construction began on Burns Lake’s first water treatment plant.  This project would not have been possible without the financial collaboration between the Village of Burns Lake, Lake Babine Nation, Burns Lake Band and the provincial and federal governments.  The water treatment plant will be online by spring of 2021.

Summer Watering

Fresh, clean water is a precious commodity and the Village of Burns Lake wants to conserve it. Water Restrictions are enforced within the Village of Burns Lake between May 15 and September 15. The use of large quantities of water for lawn, garden, vehicle washing and other domestic puposes only are permitted daily between 7 am and 11 am and 7 pm and 11 pm according to the following schedule:

  • Residents whose homes have odd house numbers will be permitted to water on odd numbered days.
  • Even numbered houses may water on even numbered days.
  • Light hand watering is permitted at anytime for new lawns, flowers and gardens.

For more information, please contact the Village Office at 250 692-7587.

Storm Water

Storm water is collected through a series of open ditches and culverts.  Storm water flows into storm pipes and manholes on Highway 16 and is eventually dispersed through an open ditch system.

Garbage

Solid Waste Disposal

Solid waste is collected once per week for residential and twice per week for commercial.  After the purchase of a new garbage lift system and garbage truck the Village of Burns Lake implemented a new bylaw requiring all residents and businesses to utilize the new bins compatible with the new truck.  This will speed up the collection process and ensure the health and safety of the Public Works employees during this process.  The new cans are extremely durable and require a one time purchase from the Village of Burns Lake unless they are damaged in some way. 

Garbage Collection

Residential: Every Wednesday – be sure to have your garbage can at the curb by 7:00am

Commercial: Tuesday and Friday

Waste Collection Bylaw No 938 2013

The Regional District of the Bulkley-Nechako is responsible for solid waste and the transfer station.  Information can be obtained the on Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako website www.rdbn.bc.ca or by calling their office at 250-692-3195.

Sewer

Sewer is collected through underground pipes, centralized in manholes, and flows to the lift station where it is pumped through two lines into Burns Lake lagoons. The retention length is approximately 8 days, unless there is significant extra flow due to infiltration.

Infiltration is generally caused by homes allowing their drains and sump pumps to flow into the sewer system, which is in contravention of the sewer bylaw. In addition snow runoff can infiltrate through manholes and access points which causes a significant increase to flow into the sewer lagoons during spring runoff. This results in increase costs due to the treatment process.

Roads and Streets

ROADS & STREETS

Highways 16 and 35, which are main arterial connectors, are maintained by the Province of British Columbia utilizing a private contractor.  The contractor is responsible for plowing, sanding, pothole repair, and general upkeep.  The Village of Burns Lake Public Works maintains the curbs, gutters, and underground infrastructure within the Highway 16 corridor.  All other roads and streets within municipal boundaries are maintained fully by the Village of Burns Lake Public Works crew. This includes snow removal, sanding, ditching, pavement patching, repair, and replacement.  Street lighting is a combination of the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC Hydro, and the Village of Burns Lake.  To report a light outage within the municipal boundaries, please contact the Village Office.

Snow Removal

The Village of Burns Lake continually strives to provide the citizens of our community with an exceptional level of service in relation to the maintenance of our public thoroughfares, parking lots and pedestrian corridors during the winter months.

The clearing of municipal roads, streets, sidewalks, public parking lots and public open spaces by our public works department (under normal circumstances) will be undertaken in the following order of importance:

  1. Hospital transportation corridor – Lorne Street from Highway #16 to 8th Avenue, 8th Avenue from Lorne Street to Centre Street and Center Street from 8th Avenue to the Hospital.
  2. Major municipal roadways: 8th Avenue, 9th Avenue, 5th Avenue, Center Street, Hill Street, Carroll Street, 1st Avenue, 3rd Avenue and the 5th Avenue/9th Avenue connector.
  3. Other municipal streets with significant road grades. Completion of 1st Avenue, 2nd Avenue, 3rd Avenue, and 4th Avenue (between Highway #16 and Center Street).
  4. Downtown public parking lots.
  5. Remaining municipal local streets and lanes.
  6. Public sidewalks in business corridor.
  7. Other public open space, as time and resources permit.

Cemetery

The Village of Burns Lake is responsible for the cemetery in perpetuity on behalf of the community. We take pride in sustaining the beauty and dignity of our cemetery, and we recognize the important contributions of individuals and families in the ongoing maintenance of the cemetery grounds.

The Cemetery is maintained on an ongoing basis, mainly in the summer, utilizing summer students. There are restrictions on types of stones that may be placed in the cemetery and we are continually updating mapping to ease in finding burial plots. Public works handles excavation of plots and reinstatement of covering, as well as lawn maintenance. The Village also maintains a columbarium for ashes.

For information on the cemetery and columbarium services and regulations, please review the Bylaw or call the Village Office.

Municipal Buildings

All municipal buildings are maintained by the Village of Burns Lake either through public works or through private contractors. There are a number of municipal buildings and properties including shops, water booster stations, water supply station, lift station, blower house, chlorine house, municipal office, Interpretive Centre, Heritage Centre, Museum, Anglican Church, playschool, and the public works foreman house.

Public Works Department

Dale Ross is the Director of Public Works
The Director of Public Works is responsible for development services within municipal boundaries and the co-ordination of all municipal infrastructure, buildings and equipment, and the supervision, direction, and administration of the Public Works Department and crew’s day-to-day operations. Directly responsible for Public Works staff and contractors, reports to the CAO.
Chris Harms is the Public Works Foreman
The Public Works Foreman works directly on maintaining the water and sewer systems that serve residents of the municipality. Special training and certifications are required to manage the complex water and sewer systems. The foreman is responsible for taking samples that are sent to specialized labs to ensure that municipal systems meet all requirements.
Public Works Crew
The Public Works crew is responsible for the maintenance and upgrading of all of the municipality’s infrastructure. The Department maintains water and sewer lines, roads, parks, buildings and pedestrian pathways.

During the winter months, the crew keep the community moving by removing snow and ice from the roadways and sidewalks.