The District of 100 Mile House has run into delays redeveloping its wells.
During the Tuesday, April 22 council meeting staff updated council on the project's status, which was originally scheduled to be completed by May of this year. Staff told council that the redevelopment, which began in February, has run into some complications and that only one of three municipal wells has been completed.
Originally, the schedule had called for well #5, #4 and # 6 to be completed ahead of the summer peak season. As of Tuesday, only well #5 has been completed and is now being monitored.
Staff has deemed it in the best interest of the community to monitor well #5 and ensure it is fully operational before beginning the redevelopment of #4 and #6, which is scheduled to begin on May 20.
As a result, staff advised council that water restrictions will be necessary this summer. Starting on May 1, the district will be implementing standard watering restrictions where even-numbered properties can only water their lawns on even days of the week and odd-numbered properties on odd days of the week. Once the next stage of the redevelopment begins between May 20 to June 7, the district will implement additional restrictions prohibiting outdoor sprinkling. Only hand watering of lawns and gardens will be allowed during this period.
“We appreciate the community’s patience, cooperation and efforts towards water conservation during this essential project,” Maureen Pinkney, Mayor of 100 Mile House, said. “The goal of the redevelopment is to ensure that our water supply remains reliable and capable of meeting future demand.”
100 Mile House was first put under water restrictions in August of last year after the district's water monitoring system detected low reservoir levels. After further investigation, the district realized that the three wells were operating below capacity, necessitating the redevelopment. The district has paid Precision Service and Pumps Inc $400,000 to complete the redevelopment.
In a release announcing the move, the district said it looks forward to completing this necessary redevelopment and providing a more reliable and sustainable water supply to the community.
