“Watering restrictions in the District of Barriere will remain the same until further notice,” said Barriere’s Mayor Ward Stamer last Monday in an interview with this reporter.
“Nothing has changed,” said Stamer, “We are still under Stage 2 Watering Restrictions. Residents can water their plants with a garden hose and an approved shut off valve. There are no changes. Even numbered property addresses can water on even numbered days, and odd numbered property addresses on odd numbered days.”
The Mayor commented that the biggest issue in regards to the municipal water system is “the wells at Bradford are still not running properly”.
“The municipal water system is currently running on Deep Well 2 (DW2) and PW1,” said Stamer, “We are not using PW3 as it is not yet fully conditioned, and we must protect PW3 during this crucial stage of development so that we protect our entire municipal system.”
He noted discussion is currently underway to install communication upgrades to also protect the water system.
“The online system for our wells desperately needs updating,” said Stamer, “Currently we are working with outdated modems and a system that is extremely unreliable and vulnerable. It could easily be hacked. That is not acceptable, and we need to update to a 3G or 4G system.”
He tells that an in-depth communications upgrade proposal and capital cost estimate has already been put forth by Exceed Electrical that includes new 4G cellular networking to replace the existing communications towers. Cost of the package is approximately $25,534, and if council approves the proposal the funds will come from the town’s Water Reserve.
In the meantime, water restrictions will remain the same. However, there is a bright spot for youngsters in the community as District staffers advised last Tuesday morning that the Barriere splash pad had been turned on. A portion of it is not yet fully functional due to a part needing to be replaced, but staff expect it will soon be fully operational.