The District of Barriere announced last Tuesday that they will be sending a notice to each house within the municipality which will provide an update on the water production situation within the community.
“We are trying to keep the public informed so that they are aware of what is going on at this time towards understanding the positive steps that are currently being taken,” said the town’s CAO Bob Payette, “We want our residents to be kept advised of the water service improvements that are being undertaken at this time.”
Payette commented that as of Jan. 25, a third well is now being drilled at Spruce Crescent. This well will be known as DW3 (Deep Well 3) which will be a replacement well for DW2 which is currently servicing the town. Which it has been doing “for many, many, years”.
“It’s time that we insure that we have a continuous supply of water for the town with a new well,” said Payette, noting the new well once up and running will actually be taking over for DW2.
“We are going to look at reconditioning DW2,” he said, “With our ultimate goal being to have both wells available.”
As the project moves ahead, the plan is to get the new well up and running, and then do some repairs and rehabilitation on DW2 so that a redundant back up with “clean potable water “ is available if needed. Payette noted that this is an important and positive step for the municipality as they move forward with projects to protect their ability to provide clean potable water to its citizens.
With the establishment of DW3 and the reconditioning of DW2 the municipality should have an immediate backup supply if a well should go down at some time in the future.
“Over the next month or two we’ll be going through the process of developing, testing, screening and monitoring the new well,” said Payette, “We are working hard to try and make this as comfortable a process for everyone as possible, but there is going to be some interruptions to get through this process of getting the new well up and running.”
The CAO says the testing period for DW3 should be starting on Feb. 16, and will take a few weeks. During that time a separate well water source located at the Bradford Park site will be used in the water system.
“During this process, residents may see a discolouration in their household water colour,” said Payette, “If anyone is concerned about the water system they should not be as we have to regulate and test it daily. The District of Barriere Utilities Department must adhere to all Provincial water regulations which includes daily testing and monitoring of the water works and quality of water as per the Water Protection Act, Drinking Water Regulations and the Water Sustainability Act. It is the only way we would operate.”
If residents have any concerns they are asked to contact the District of Barriere’s utility operations staff at their emergency contact number 250-672-2118. Operations are on call and avail-able for resident concerns 24 hours per day, 365 days a year.
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