Construction Update #9 - August 1, 2019

Here is the latest construction update on the Windermere Water Upgrade project.

Construction is nearing the end for this year, but we have one complete water system shutdown for Windermere before we are done. Tentatively set for Monday, August 12, this will be an all day water system shut down while Eagle Rock, the Contractor, connects the watermain in the highway to the existing system in front of the Fire Hall. As we get closer, we will confirm the date and notices will be provided. With the upcoming long weekend, Eagle Rock will be offsite Friday through Monday and back on Tuesday.

We have had a few people ask about treated water and the community upgrades, so thought we would share this information with everyone. Essentially, there are two components to the Windermere Treated Water Project:

1. Providing the community with water from the East Side Lake Windermere water treatment plant. The watermain to connect the two systems has been installed. As we have found an opportunity to improve operation and eliminate a planned pressure reducing station, some more work is required around the water treatment plant before the treated water can flow to Windermere. The current schedule is to have Windermere connected in the spring of 2020. Once this work is complete, the entire Windermere water system will have treated water and the Water Quality Advisory signs at the entrances to Windermere will be removed. No-one in Windermere will have treated water until spring.
   
2. Upgrading the water system in the community is the second component. Some areas of the Windermere water system are ageing and smaller diameter which limits fire flow availability. We are working on upgrading some of these areas to provide a more robust water system. This is the work that occurred within the community this year (Government/Sinclair/North St areas), and also includes some of the hydrants that are being added within the community. More upgrades are planned for next year, with details still under review. These upgrades are not related to who will receive treated water since it is one system and once the system is connected to East Side Lake Windermere water treatment plant, everyone on the Windermere water system will have treated water.

Hopefully this clears things up, but if there are any additional questions, please reach out to Elizabeth Ahlgren, Project Supervisor at eahlgren@rdek.bc.ca or phone 250-489-2791.