Cranbrook Issued Water Quality Advisory

This should not come as a surprise to those who have read Cranbrook's $500000.00 Growth Management Study.  Of more importance is how this issue will be addressed.  It is just another infrastructure problem which needs attention.  The total sum of money needed to bring our infrastructure up to speed is large to say the least.

In the Volume 4: Water Supply and Distribution Planning document on page 23 Stantec states the following:
3.4 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS


"The City of Cranbrook's water treatment does not fully comply with the Interior Health Authority (IHA)'s 4-3-2-1-0 drinking water objective performance targets."


The study then goes on to state:


"Chlorine has limited effectiveness against Giardia and is ineffective against Cryptosporidium. Both Giardia and Cryptosporidium parasites with potential for severe implications for the elderly, the young or those residents with weaker or compromised immune systems. Given the City's current method of treatment, these parasites cannot be effectively removed from the surface water supply. This is likely evidenced by the gastrointestinal disease outbreak which was experienced by the City in 1996."




The Study also concluded that :


"95% of the time the City's settled water turbidity is less or equal to 1.3 NTU. In order to meet the 1 NTU guideline, additional filtration treatment of surface water is required."


Also are the troubling comments such as:


"Although no evidence of E.Coli was measured in 2007-2008, there were several positive indications of fecal coliforms. In order to eliminate the occurrence of E.Coli and Fecal Coliforms in the City's potable water, additional treatment is required via filtration or UV disinfection."


The Study's final recommendation FOR THIS PART of the Volume 4 Document, is summed up as follows:


"It is recommended that an additional treatment process (e.g. filtration or UV disinfection or both) be implemented at the existing Phillips Reservoir Treatment Facility to reduce the risk of illness due to Giardia, Cryptosporidium and other pathogens and bacteria present in the source waters. The existing monitoring of raw water samples for these protozoa along with other water quality parameters should be maintained."

Go to the City's website for the full water advisory:
http://www.cranbrook.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=416:water-quality-advisory&catid=29:whats-new&Itemid=474

This link provides information on turbidity:
http://www.interiorhealth.ca/health-and-safety.aspx?id=526

Other information about the Growth Management Study can be found to the right hand side of this post under 'Popular Posts'.


For the entire Growth Management Study:
http://www.cranbrook.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=340&Itemid=567 target=