Several communities on the West Side will be transferred from the South Bay Wellfield over to East Side water this fall, due to lower than expected water levels.
The wells currently sit a metre below sea level, according to a new report. They should be sitting at least a metre above sea level, otherwise there is a risk for sea water to seep in.
The city has been monitoring the wells and says there no evidence of salt or brackish water. They are putting preventative measures in place regardless.
This new plan comes just two years after the entire west side was switched to the controversial well system, which resulted in poor water quality and damage to homes.
A class-action lawsuit is currently underway.
Mayor Don Darling says he blames the engineering firm hired to build the well system—BGC Engineering—and plans on pursuing legal action.
“We hired an excellent engineering firm that we counted on that gave us bad advice, and that’s why we’ve hired a law firm to certainly attempt to recoup every dollar that tax payers have invested in that bad advice,” he said in an interview.
The city has ended their contract with BGC immediately.
“There was a study done over a period of a year that they completed that work and said there was enough water, that council used that information to make their decision and they were wrong,” he said.
The current wells sit a metre below sea level, when they should be at least a metre above (Saint John Water).
The lower west side, Milford, Randolph, Fundy Heights, Duck Cove and Sand Cove will be transferred to the new Loch Lomond Drinking Water facility.
This is a temporary plan for now, as the city explores a long-term solution.
“In the interim…you have to put a plan in place. That’s what we’re doing and people are still going to have a great supply of water, safe clean drinking water, but yes it’s frustrating, it’s disappointing,” he said.
Additionally, the Lancaster water storage tank will be supplied by east side water. The current well water will be drained by mid November to December, said the city.
The South Bay well field will continue to serve water customers in the remaining west side neighourhoods.
The city says the biggest thing residents will notice is the hardness of the water. No other quality should change.
It also ensures there will be no service disruptions.
The process will be happening gradually over a period of time, the city explains, so changes in quality won’t be noticed all at once.
The full transfer is expected to be complete by mid to late fall. (Saint John Water).
A water main is already in place to bring the water across the Reversing Falls Bridge, but a new pumping station will be required to carry it into the six neighbourhoods, which has a price tag of around $500,000.
More information can be found on the city’s website.
