Clear plan for Duteau Creek

http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_280.php By Scott NeufeldFriday, June 16 After months of harsh criticism from rural water users who say they’re tired of paying higher rates without seeing any quality improvements, Greater Vernon Water has unveiled a new wrinkle in the Master Water Plan.The water utility has proposed an interim solution by building a dissolved air floatation facility at Headgates on Duteau Creek. Water project manager Jeremy Kinch said the proposed treatment option would result in significant improvement to water quality and prevent future boil water advisories.“This is our biggest source, our future source, it has the worst quality from an aesthetic perspective,” Kinch said. “(Duteau) is the key to the project as a whole.”The Greater Vernon Services Commission voted unanimously to go ahead with designing the facility which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007.“Certainly from a rural users’ point of view this is going to give them the same quality of water as the folks downtown,” electoral area C director Stan Field said after the meeting. “This is really good news.”Three different options were examined and the most expensive option was chosen. However, the costly option also provides the clearest water.The new option is expected to cost $19 million which can be paid for with money borrowed through the water referendum. As funds allow, the Duteau Creek plant would eventually be upgraded.“We’re not building something today that’s a throwaway,” Kinch said. Dissolved air floatation works by using tiny air bubbles to push particles through the water to the surface in large basins. The floating sludge is then skimmed from the top while the purified water is sucked through the bottom of the basin.The system is effective in removing turbidity, algae and bacteria, however, it’s not as effective as a treatment plant would be. According to the water utility’s figures, the average turbidity for the year would be 0.4 with dissolved air floatation, well below the Canadian drinking water standard of 1.0. However, during peak times it could rise above 6.0 stirring up a boil water advisory.Kinch said if the floatation system had been in place on Duteau Creek this year there would not have been a single boil water advisory to this point. The water utility announced yesterday that another boil water advisory had been placed on Duteau Creek.“During periods of high turbidity, particularly in July, we could possibly exceed 5 NTU for short durations,” Kinch said.Under the latest Master Water Plan, a full Duteau Creek water treatment plant was scheduled to be finished by the end of next year. However, the $30 million price tag and lack of government grants made it too costly to complete, he said. Building the plant at Duteau Creek means that other projects will be pushed further into the future. Kinch said those projects should still be completed by 2015 when the $103 million Master Water Plan is supposed to be finished.