WATER NEWS – 11/28

Upgrades to Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant in West Kelowna, BC

West Kelowna residents connected to the $75-million Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant have been dealing with brown, smelly water pouring from their taps for months due to higher-than-normal levels of manganese that the city says wasn’t being adequately treated.

During a meeting on November 26, council voted to accelerate a $2.5-million budget to upgrade a failing aerator system in the Rose Valley Reservoir. (Global News)

Ontario Water Infrastructure Loan Program

The Ontario government is providing up to $1 billion in loans to provide municipalities with more financing options for water infrastructure projects that enable the construction of more homes. The new Housing-Enabling Water Infrastructure (HEWI) lending stream, under Infrastructure Ontario’s (IO) Loan Program, will support the construction, expansion and rehabilitation of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure projects that enable new homes. Infrastructure Ontario will begin accepting applications from municipalities on December 2, 2024.

Water Rate increases London ON

London Town Council also approved increases of $8 (1.5 per cent) to the average annual water bill and $38 (5.4 per cent) to the average annual wastewater/sewer bill. (London Review)

Some Halifax Water fluoride systems offline

Halifax Water has not added fluoride to its Pockwock Lake and Lake Major facilities for more than a year due to equipment problems, according to the utility’s website.

The fluoride units have been offline since May 2023 at Pockwock and April 2020 at Lake Major. Repairs at Pockwock are expected to be completed this month, but there is no timeline for Lake Major. The two facilities serve more than 300,000 residents combined. (Surge 105)

Prince Rupert BC long-standing drinking water issues

Boil water advisories in Canada's 3rd busiest port have become so frequent that many people have resorted to installing filtration systems or storing huge bottles of water in their homes — a costly addition to their regular household bills.

In 2024 alone, the city has had more than two months' worth of boil water notices, the latest of which was issued November 26, following an equipment failure in the city's water system..

The city urgently needs upgrades to a water system that dates back more than a century. Now, after decades of stagnation, the city has been working to play catch up through the BIG project (an acronym for the Big Infrastructure Gap) that has seen the city map out 26 kilometres of pipe that need immediate attention due to their high risk of failure. (CBC)

Shipwrecking company and BC government at odds over cause of Union Bay pollution

In August 2024, shipwrecking company received a letter from the province after an inspection found acute levels of effluent discharged into Baynes Sound by the company’s operations. The company operations were found to be discharging copper effluent at more than 100 times the province’s allowable limit, and 13 times more than what is allowed for zinc effluent.

The letter cited B.C. Water Quality Guideline levels and warned that if the company fails to stop discharging acute and chronic levels of effluent into Baynes Sound, it could be subject to an offence of up to $300,000 under the Environmental Management Act, or an administrative penalty of up to $40,000 under the Administrative Penalties Regulation. 

Deep Water Recovery denies responsibility for the pollution, pointing the finger at historic coal waste. The dispute is ongoing.

B.C. Chiefs concerned over AFN’s intervention in federal water legislation work

The regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in British Columbia says he’s deeply concerned by what seems to be an intervention by the national chief to expedite federal water legislation through a parliamentary committee by having a number of amendments removed.

“While we respect the urgency of passing the First Nations Clean Water Act, it must be done so through an unfettered due process, respecting the autonomy of First Nations and the regional AFN offices upon which the National Chief depends upon,” said Terry Teegee, in a Nov. 25 letter to the national chief on behalf of the BC Assembly of First Nations, or BCAFN. (APTN News)

Water Advisories

Boil water advisory in effect for Montreal North borough

The City of Montreal has announced that there is a preventative boil water advisory in effect in the borough of Montreal North.