The District of 100 Mile House needs to redevelop its wells that supply the community's water.
This announcement comes after the district imposed water restrictions last week after they received an alarm signalling low aquifer levels. After a week of performing tests and analyzing the water system by engineers and consultants, the district announced on Wednesday, Aug. 14 that they found that "the wells are currently not performing at the developed capacity affecting the efficiency of the water supply system."
Mayor Maureen Pinkney said the district currently relies on three wells to supply water for the community and that the wells appear to be suffering from sediment buildups, which are impacting their performance. She noted that 100 Mile House's water, which is considered hard due to the high mineral content, is even harder straight out of the ground and they've had to replace parts of the pumps in the past.
"So we're not able to condition the water 600 feet in the ground that we're drawing up - so though we condition it when it goes out, the condition of the water pre-treatment is worse than what everybody else sees," Pinkney said.
In their release, the district noted that it was recommended by consultants they redevelop the wells. This will involve applying various treatments and reconstruction methods to help restore each well to peak efficiency and extend its operational life. This process will require significant investment and effort to complete, with the district stating they will be taking action to prepare for the redevelopment of the wells before winter.
Due to this, the water restrictions imposed last week will remain in place for the foreseeable future. These restrictions include a community-wide ban on all outside watering and sprinkling, suspension of all irrigation activity by the district, the closure of the Centennial Park Spray Park, the closure of the district's bulk water station and the closure of the district's sani-station. They have also asked the public to take their own steps to conserve water usage.
"We have to continue conserving water, because we have to, of course, shut down wells while work is being done on them," Pinkney said. "We really need people to conserve it anywhere that they can while all this work is being done."
Pinkney has no estimate at this time on how much money the well redevelopment will cost and noted that the water restrictions will not be lifted until they determine where the aquifer level is at. Pinkney also states that if the aquifer was no longer viable, for whatever reason, the district would have to look at going back to using Bridge Creek for its water needs.
"If we had to go back there, that's starting all over with a new treatment plant and securing that water - I mean, if you look at the creek right now, there's not that much water in it," Pinkney noted.
As for what the public should be doing during this time, Pinkney notes that they should be fixing any leaking toilets or dripping taps, and urges the public to shorten their showers if they can.
"You know Calgary had that massive break in the main water line and they reduced water just at an unbelievable rate - everyone just was so helpful in cutting their showers, not running taps when they didn't have to," Pinkney stated, citing the recent water main break in that city that led to major water restrictions.
Pinkney states that it is very unfortunate that water restrictions need to be extended, noting that the district does not want to lose any of the trees in town or keep the spray park closed.
"Growing up here, that was what kids did for fun. And, you know, so it's a tough time of year that way," Pinkney said. "But at the same time, had this happened in the winter, it would have been way harder to deal with the problem at minus 20."
