Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond said 2025 was a transformative year for the city, marked by major infrastructure projects, community advocacy and challenging disruptions.
The city made significant progress on several key initiatives, including the construction and opening of a new roundabout, securing provincial and federal funding for a new wastewater treatment plant, and taking steps to improve water quality. The closure of a major business also had an impact.
Since early in its term, Prince Rupert City Council has been focused on raising the water quality in the city by fixing areas of constant failure. The most notable reason for Prince Rupert’s constant boil-water advisories has been the state and age of the pipes. 2025 saw the city take major steps to fix the water quality, said Pond.
“It’s been an amazing year from a capital projects point of view. I think we’ve spent close to $70 million on capital works, which is a huge number for a community our size. And the impact of that is massive, it’s turning the corner for us. Our council has focused on rebuilding the entire water system and we are getting near the end of the second phase, if you will.” he said.
“The first phase was rebuilding the water dam. Now we’re doing a lot of the pipes that need to be replaced and then the third phase will be getting to a full water treatment. So this year’s been replacing a lot of water pipes.”
Residents have raised concerns about water quality, traffic disruptions and infrastructure-related charges. A group has urged the city to reduce water fees. The city is aware of the frustrations, but disruptions are unavoidable, said Pond.
“Council is aware of the challenges these projects create for people. We warned people going into it when we were successful in raising all the money to do the projects that it was going to be like living in your house while you renovate it. It’s impossible not to get drywall dust everywhere. There is no way to work on the water system without the disruptions that are coming. There’s no way to get from the aged-out water system that we inherited to the new system we need without going through these processes. I know some people would love to see some kind of refund or financial assistance from the city, but it ignores the fact that the only money we have is the money to work on the pipes. If we take away from working on the pipes, it just means we’re in this situation even longer.”
Pond also said that the disruptions affect him just as much.
“I have to divert around the same traffic that everybody has to divert around, and I have to live with the same boil-water advisory that everybody else has to live with. We’re going to get there. Next year will be more disruption, but I think after that you’re going to see the boil-water advisories coming down substantially. And we’re the generation that’s being called on to set this place up for the next hundred years.”
2026 will see the B.C. municipal election taking place across the province. In October 2026, residents will be casting votes for who they want to be the mayor and councillors of Prince Rupert. As the current mayor of Prince Rupert, Pond has yet to make a decision on whether he will run again, he said.
“I’m very much enjoying the work. What we’re doing is meaningful. We’ve made some tremendous strides forward. We have a wonderful staff group. So all of that is incredibly appealing. And I have to weigh that against my own personal life. My wife has retired, and we’re trying to find out what life looks like with a working mayor and a retired wife. That’ll be a decision to be made sometime in the spring. But the work itself is incredibly rewarding.”
The city plans to continue prioritizing water system upgrades in 2026, even if that means more construction and potential boil-water advisories.
“The focus for 2026 is water, water, water. So we will be continuing to dig up streets, replace pipes and make sure that there’s a good delivery system. At the same time, we are currently, and for early 2026 will be, working hard to secure the funds. We need roughly $60 million for water treatment.” he said.
“All of the years that Prince Rupert’s existed, we’ve never done full treatment. We do chlorination, which is a one-stage treatment, but modern cities are required now to have three-stage filtration. We’re going to move to that. So while I don’t think we’ll be able to begin that work, we want to raise the money for that.”
“And then there’s some other community-building projects that are in the design phase. Mariner’s Park is going to get a whole new lift down at Waterfront Park. There’s been money set aside for a number of years for a project that has Kitkatla and Prince Rupert working together. You’re going to see a reworking of the waterfront to develop a more livable community.”
2026 will also see a big change in Prince Rupert as Prince Rupert Port Authority CEO and president Shaun Stevenson is retiring and will hand the reins to a new CEO and president in the new year. Until the port finds its new full-time CEO and president, Kurt Slocombe will assume the role on an interim basis. The city has always worked closely with the port, and maintaining its strong relationship will be crucial, said Pond.
“We’ve been building a stronger and stronger relationship with the Port of Prince Rupert. I would say that where we’re at right now is in a really good place, and that has happened under Shaun’s leadership. Kurt is going to be every bit as accommodating. We know that we’ve got a great working relationship between the council and the board at the Port of Prince Rupert.” he said.
“So even when we disagree on issues, we can still work on other projects. We want to work together with them very closely, for example during the cruise season, if we can expand that opportunity for local business people. Kurt is going to be a great leader in the interim. We’re very excited by the choice they made to go with Kurt. We look forward to seeing who gets that job permanently. I’m convinced because of the working relationship the council has with the board that whoever it is will be somebody who works closely with the community.”
