Sointula Waterworks District
July 15, 2019
To our Ratepayers,
Sointula Waterworks District is inspected yearly by Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA). During our 2018 inspection VIHA informed us we need to put in place a “Cross Contamination Control system” (CCC) or VIHA will be forced to Chlorinate Sointula’s Water system.
It is simple to put in a CCC system in place. We are asking our rate payers to install (if they don’t already have one) a back-flow prevention devise (CSA approved “Check Valve”) on your household water system and let us know that you have done this. BC Construction code says it is mandatory on new construction so, if your home is new you probably have one but still let us know.
We have a local plumber who can help those who don’t have the skills to do this.
North Island Plumbing: Owner Davin Holmes. 250-202-6308.
All it takes to contaminate the water system is putting a garden hose in a child’s pool or an animal watering container, leaving it running, meanwhile, simultaneously, we have a water leak elsewhere causing suction in the system. This will draw the contaminated water into our system.
Because of past fatal incidences of contaminated water system’s (Walkerton), VIHA is monitoring every small water system to make sure all people are protected from these contaminants. If we show we are doing our do-diligence, we can avoid chlorinating our water system.
But We need your help.
It is very expensive to chlorinate and it will drastically raise our water tolls.
We have many good thins going for us as a water district to not be chlorinated. We flush our pipes twice a week. We are required to test our system monthly but we do it twice monthly at several locations to be safe, and test all three wells monthly. We are replacing old services with new and better materials and adding as much new pipe as we can afford. So, once we have a cross contamination control system in place it will better support our case to not be Chlorinated.
Please help us achieve this goal. Come into the office, email or call letting us know you have a “Check Valve” on your system or that you just installed one.
At the next 2019 VIHA inspection, we can proudly say we don’t need chlorination because every home is protected by a cross contamination control system.
Thank you
Sointula Waterworks District
270-973 2308
sointula_water@yahoo.ca