Accessibility and Access Keys [0]
By Joanne Chianello, The Ottawa Citizen, Files From Alex Weber
The 80,000 residents of Barrhaven, Riverside South and Manotick who’ve been prohibited from using water outdoors since late April will see the ban lifted on July 15, two weeks ahead of schedule and a full month earlier than the original worst-case scenario, Mayor Jim Watson announced Wednesday.
“We’re hopeful that if things continue to go has they have been, the ban might be lifted even sooner.”
And the mayor indicated that city officials are studying whether to allow limited outdoor use in a week, perhaps on a rotating basis.
Watson told reporters that city officials have had preliminary discussions about “a number of scenarios” that could allow residents to use water outdoors is some limited way. “If we’re able to offer more mitigation measures to help the residents, then we will announce those as quickly as possible,” he said.
But Watson warned he’d only do that “when we have confidence that it will not risk the water supply or safety of the residents.”
The earlier end date means that the city will have to pay out incentive bonuses of about $430,000. Wayne Newell, the city’s manager of infrastructure, put the capital costs of the watermain project at about $6 million. The city will also spend up to $2 million on mitigation costs, such as topping up residents’ pools and hot tubs and offering $50 rebates for rain barrels.
It’s thanks to a set of nearperfect conditions, including the weather, no unhappy surprises at the construction site, and the extra effort put in by the pipe manufacturer and the contractor, Ottawa Greenbelt Construction, that the end date has been moved up.
Even though there’s been rain, crews have been able to work through the inclement weather for the most part. One weekend, they literally worked 24 hours a day.
“Usually when you’re putting pipe in the ground, you come across a conflict that was unforeseen,” said Newell. “That hasn’t happened.”
In fact, the 902 metres of huge pipe are already in the ground, but there’s “still a lot of work to be done,” said Newell. Crews need to attach the pieces of pipes with connectors, which must be measured on-site before being customcast at the manufacturing plant. It will also take about two weeks to test the pipes, pressurize the system and conduct water-quality tests.
At 11 a.m. Wednesday, crews hooked up a bypass pipe from a water system that runs east-west near Hunt Club Road to the area affected by the ban. This will add additional capacity to the Woodroffe watermain that serves 27,000 homes. It will take several days, including the weekend, to determine if the bypass is adding enough water to allow the city to partially lift the ban.
The outdoor water ban was announced on April 27, when city officials confirmed that the Woodroffe Avenue watermain, which hasn’t been in service since January, failed prematurely and would have to be replaced. The secondary water pipe that serves the south-end communities cannot handle the extra demand of spring and summer. Depleting the water reserves would result in a loss of pressure in the water pipes. When the system “depressurizes,” groundwater and contamination can seep into watermains. Should the water become contaminated, people supplied by the watermain would have to boil their water for safety.
Although there was initial shock at the news, residents have, for the most part, complied. So far, no fines have been issued. The city has topped up 2,000 pools and hot tubs, with another 500 requests waiting to be filled. About 8,000 rain-barrel rebate applications have been received.
And Barrhaven Councillor Jan Harder said retailers are coming up with ways to help local residents. For example, Ross’ Independent Grocers is selling 18-litre bottles of water for $3.50 each. The bottles themselves, which require a $10 refundable deposit, can be refilled for free at water trucks the city has stationed through the area.
“I’ve been telling people, with this heat, that they can use that water to fill up their kiddie pools,” said Harder. A three-foot-wide pool suitable for a toddler would require at least three 18-litre bottles.
Watson said that “these great citizens of our city have accepted and adjusted to this disruption of their normal lifestyle each and every day.” And while it may be easy to dismiss the statement as politicking, it’s difficult not to admire someone like Kristy Price.
“I’m not complaining,” said the Riverside South mother of four. “I’d rather have safe drinking water. We all have to take responsibility for living in a city that’s growing quickly.”
She said that when a local membership-only pool is too busy to take additional guests, “we go out to the park before noon . and we spend a lot of time outside in the evenings, so bedtime’s a little later.”
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