‘They tell us they’re making progress’

Aspen Ridge homeowners have been using temporary water service since January

Susan Serrano expected ongoing construction in a developing neighbourhood when she moved to Aspen Ridge, but she never expected water issues.

“(When we first moved), we had to shower, everything from Culligan bottles. It was a pain,” she said.

After her home was hooked up to temporary water service, it froze on her.

She was told the problem happened because she didn’t leave the water running properly.

To prevent freezing, her family had to leave the tap running while they were sleeping.

“It felt like a waste of water really, but that was the only way to keep it going,” she said.

Aspen Ridge residents have been without permanent water service since Jan. 10, when the Water Security Agency issued water restrictions after hydrocarbons, a main component in crude oil and natural gas, were found in fire hydrants.

Installation of the temporary water lines began in February.

At Monday ’s environment, utilities and corporate services committee meeting, it was recommended that the city pay Stantec Consulting Ltd. $1.5 million for a remediation plan, not including construction costs.

Serrano said everything is running fine with the temporary water service at the moment, and other than two outages that lasted 10 to 15 minutes, they haven’t had any more issues.

Needless to say, she still hopes everything will be cleared up soon.

“Once you’re in the house you don’t really think about it. But when you’re out there and there’s trucks blocking all the streets all the time and all these hoses and all this dirt, it drives me crazy. But I try not to think about it too much,” she said.

Although she gets updates from the city every two weeks, she still wonders about the progress.

“They tell us they’re (making) progress, but I don’t really see it because we’re still hooked to the thing,” she said.

Once you’re in the house you don’t really think about it. But when you’re out there and there’s trucks blocking all the streets all the time ...

LIAM RICHARDS “All these hoses and all this dirt, it drives me crazy. But I try not to think about it too much,” says Aspen Ridge homeowner Susan Serrano of the temporary water lines in the neighbourhood.