Castlegar’s engineering manager says a test of an old well has demonstrated that it can supply the city with water in an emergency, at least at certain times of year.
Ryan Niddery told city council this week that he was “very, very pleased to say that testing went very well.”
The city normally draws its water from the Arrow Lakes. During the test this month, the city switched over to the well entirely.
“We confirmed that the well is capable of providing the city with drinking water in an emergency,” Niddery said, although he added the caveat that the assessment was based on “winter flows.”
“So non-irrigation time of year is when that well is able to keep up and provide us drinking water. But that changes quite a bit when we irrigate and use water during the summertime.”
Niddery said the city will discuss the results with Interior Health and review and update its emergency response plan accordingly.
The city issued a precautionary water quality advisory while the testing was underway, which lasted a few days. The advisory was advertised several weeks in advance and again when it was actually implemented.
Communications manager Ginger Lester said it seemed to be well received. The city received four calls from people asking questions, but no one seemed upset.
City to interview dogs
The city’s ad for expressions of interest from a dog handler team to scare geese away from the Millennium Park ponds has now closed. Niddery said they will be reviewing submissions in the coming days.
It’s among the steps the city is taking to limit algae blooms on the ponds, along with re-installing aerial flagging to discourage geese from hanging around the ponds. However, it hasn’t yet been established if the geese are to blame. The city is working on a water quality sampling program this year to get to figure out the cause of the algae.
The smallest of the three ponds will be drained or pumped while the testing continues and kept out of commission this year. The other two ponds are expected to open on the May long weekend.
Sewage fix looks promising
A temporary fix to problems at the city’s south sewage treatment plant is now up and running, Niddery reported.
The city has hired a company to provide a mobile fan press for dewatering biosolids.
“We’re very excited about the results to date,” he said. Although he didn’t have any specific data to share, he added that “the results are definitely hitting the mark.”
Niddery said a geotube is still on site from a previous experiment that failed, which the city will have to deal with in the coming weeks. He said there are always odors associated with that process and neighbours will be informed ahead of time.
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