Update on water restrictions in Bluewater Park and King Edward Bay
Significant effort continues in relation to the water systems investigation this week and through next.
Water brought in from Cove Bay:
Last week there was a point where the Bluewater Park reservoir became empty and the KEB reservoir dropped down into its fire suppression storage reserve. A Provincially certified potable water hauler was brought in to transfer 8 tanker trunks of water from the Cove Bay water system into the KEB reservoir. It is quite likely that this transport of water will be required again until the source of the problem is rectified, particularly at the end of this week in advance of more testing scheduled for Monday July 22.
The water transferred from Cove Bay to BWP and KEB is a comparatively small quantity and supplements the well water. Although the water from Cove Bay meets Provincial regulations for drinking water, the Provincial Health Officer requires that we notify residents that Cove Bay water is from an open water source (Grafton Lake). The Provincial Health Officer advises people with compromised immune systems (such as HIV, organ or bone transplants, chemotherapy or medications that suppress the immune system) to avoid drinking water from any surface water or ground water that is under the influence of surface water, unless it has been boiled, filtered, distilled or treated with UV.
Be assured, this is not a boil-water advisory for the general public, but rather is directed as a consideration only for persons with compromised immune systems. If in doubt about your immune system status, please discuss this further with your physician. If you have any concerns until the water supply issue is resolved, you may elect to buy bottled water for drinking and food preparation that does not involve boiling.
Monitoring and testing:
Water level monitoring equipment has been installed in the two new wells that were drilled earlier this year. While these wells are not supplying water into the system, this monitoring will allow us to observe the response of the aquifer when pumping occurs in other wells.
In addition, we have been testing water meters, and have learned that some are not working properly. Repairs on meters are proceeding on a priority basis.
Comprehensive testing and inspection of the four existing Bluewater wells will take place July 22nd through July 25th. This work will sequentially require each well to come off line but will not interrupt service to homes.
Leaks:
Operations staff continue to search for water leaks in both water systems. This process requires temporary disruption to water service, generally less than 20 minutes. Some of you may have noticed this occurrence in recent days. As a general notice, you may continue to experience some short duration (less than 20 minutes) disruptions over the coming two weeks. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide advance notice of these temporary disruptions. We appreciate your understanding and patience while this necessary work takes place. We will provide advanced notice for a significant shut down of scheduled repairs or activities.
Stage 4 Water Restrictions remain in place:
There is a need to continue with stage 4 water restrictions at this time. The recent rains should have tempered the needs for irrigation, and we continue to encourage the use of rain barrels to capture rainwater for hand watering. BIM is monitoring residential water meter usage. We remain aware of ongoing over usage of water, in some cases irrigation and in some cases internal consumption.
Community involvement:
BIM urges both the BWP and KEB communities to continue respectful use of water, and we encourage neighbourhood awareness. One local resident has suggested a “buddy system” where neighbours would watch out for each other when one neighbour is away and keep an eye out for leaks and report them to BIM staff. This could similarly apply to observations of water misuse during the stage 4 restrictions. Do you have other ideas that could help during this water shortage? Please let us know.
We continue to ask that residents of both communities provide us with alternative contact information. In many cases, we have only mailing addresses. If leaks are identified on a property and we are unable to contact the resident, water will be shut off.
Next steps:
With all these activities, it is expected that we will have a better understanding of the problems and necessary course of action by the end of July. Staff and consultants will be reporting back to Council at its special Council meeting being held on July 29th with information gathered to-date.
Solving the water shortages in BWP and KEB remains a high priority for BIM. We appreciate your patience and contributions to help manage the situation. We will continue to provide weekly updates.
How to get updates:
When more information becomes available, we will post updates on the ALERTS page, and you will receive updates by e-mail. Please feel free to forward this e-mail to neighbours in the area and encourage them to SUBSCRIBE to our e-newsletter to get updates.
Look for water system updates online:
Bluewater Park and King Edward Bay News
Questions?
Please contact Public Works at 604-947-0613 or bim@bimbc.ca.
