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Water Stewardship
Town of Boissevain annual water system report 2009
The Town of Boissevain provides drinking water with sufficient quantity to the public. It is our goal to meet all the regulatory requirements in a safe and effective manner.
Where do we get our water from?
We pump water from the Boissevain Reservoir and from 5 wells into the Boissevain Water Treatment. The water supply is made up of 2/3 surface water and 1/3 well water.
Why do we treat our water?
We treat our water in a Lime softening process to remove the hardness and the iron. We are committed to provide soft and good quality water to our community. We have gravity filtration as well as Granular Actived Carbon filters to help polish the treated water. This process is designed to clarify the water and to remove microbial contaminants, such as bacteria, and organic materials that are found in surface water.
Why and how do we disinfect our water?
The final step in the treatment of our water is disinfection. The Drinking water safety act requires that the water is disinfected before it leaves the water treatment facility. Chlorination is our main disinfection treatment for our water supply to kill bacteria and viruses that are commonly found in surface water. An adequate amount of chlorine is added to the water before it enters the storage reservoir to ensure an effective kill and to provide disinfectant residual in the entire water system of the Town of Boissevain.
How much water storage do we have?
A reservoir underneath the water treatment plant has a capacity of 814,150 Litres. The reservoir is designed so that the water is always moving so it never gets stale.
Water testing, for What and When?
Water tests are taken daily at the water treatment plant to ensure the water is safe and to monitor how well the treatment plant is performing. We also test the distribution system at various times and locations and have all results submitted to the Provincial Office of Drinking Water for review.
Bacterial testing: We test the raw water (untreated water), the treated water (leaving the reservoir) and the water in the distribution system (within the Town of Boissevain) every two weeks (biweekly) for the presence of Total Coliform and for E. coli bacteria.
Disinfection testing: We test the level of chlorine in the treated water every day to ensure the chlorine levels meet the standards. Chlorine testing is also done when the bacterial samples are taken.
Turbidity testing: Turbidity is a measurement of the clarity of the water. We use turbidity to see how well our treatment system is working. Turbidity is tested daily as the raw water enters the system and after each filter and as it leaves the Water Treatment Plant.
To view the water quality analyses, the Disinfection Monitoring and Reporting, click here.
Major expenses incurred in 2009?
The Water Towers had to be decommissioned as one water tower split. Variable Speed Drives were installed on the Distribution pumps and a new jockey pump was installed in the water plant. The towers were abandoned and the pumps are used for pressure. A Variable Speed Drive is being considered for the fire pump.
An Engineering Assessment is being done in response to our elevatdd THM levels and to comply with provincial requirements we will have to make some changes to the Water Plant.
Town of Boissevain Water plant operators:
Barry Chinner, 36 years service in Water Treatment
Glenn Kentner, 27 years service in Water Treatment
Doug Harper, 19 years service in Water Treatment
Dustin Pugh, 2 years service as operator in training.