COURTENAY, B.C. – The Comox Valley Regional District is warning that there will be an elevated risk of turbidity for the Comox Valley water system, starting next week.
That’s because BC Hydro will be taking the Puntledge generating station out of service from Monday, March 18 to Friday, March 29, due to annual spring maintenance.
The CVRD will be moving to its backup pump station during this maintenance period.
The district notes that the backup station is more susceptible to poor water quality during weather events which commonly occur this time of year.
According to the CVRD, it will monitor the situation closely and the community will be alerted should turbidity reach unacceptable levels and a boil water notice is required.
“During these periods of maintenance, CVRD staff works closely with BC Hydro to minimize the impact on the Comox Valley water system,” a CVRD release notes.
High turbidity can interfere with the chlorination process used to disinfect the drinking water for the 45,000 residents served by the Comox Valley water system.
To register for text message or voice mail notifications about boil water notices and other emergency notifications visit: www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/getnotified.
People are urged to choose both the community in which they live and the Comox Valley Water Supply System (boil water) notification lists.
You can also register by calling 250-334-6057.
Work is in the final stages for a new water treatment system that will begin construction later this year and be fully operational by 2021.
According to the release, once completed, the risk of turbidity related boil water notices will be eliminated in our community.
The new system will also draw water directly from Comox Lake, upstream of the BC Hydro Penstock, avoiding any potential service disruptions during maintenance of Hydro infrastructure. For more information about this project visit www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/watertreatment.
The Comox Valley Regional District is a federation of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing sustainable services for residents and visitors to the area. The members of the regional district work collaboratively on services for the benefit of the diverse urban and rural areas of the Comox Valley.
