White Rock open house to discuss water treatment
White Rock residents who want to find out more about how the city plans to remove arsenic and manganese from their drinking water will have their chance at an open house planned for Thursday.
“We’re very excited that we’re moving forward on a water treatment process that will see our water dramatically improve in terms of its quality,” said chief administrative officer Dan Bottrill.
White Rock is one of the few communities in Metro Vancouver that does not receive its water from the regional district. Instead, its drinking water comes from seven wells drilled into the Sunnyside Uplands Aquifer, and that water contains naturally occurring arsenic and manganese.
From time to time, the maximum allowable concentration of arsenic in White Rock’s water, according to Health Canada rules, is exceeded at some wells. The water also regularly exceeds the esthetic limit for manganese, for which there is no health-related limit because its effects on human health are still being studied.
In order to improve its drinking water, White Rock began a partnership in late 2016 with University of B.C.-based RES’EAU-WaterNET. A research team spent a year studying the water and determining the best process for removing arsenic and manganese.
“Water chemistry can be unique from one site to another, which is why thorough research must be conducted to ensure that the treatment processes we put in place for White Rock are right for our water,” said Saad Jasim, the city’s manager of utilities.
The plan is to build one plant at the Oxford reservoir that will treat water from both the Oxford and Merklin reservoirs. The water will be treated with ozone before it goes through two different filters — one that removes arsenic and one that removes manganese.
The process will also have the effect of removing naturally occurring ammonia and iron, which have not been an issue to date.
In November, the city awarded the water treatment plant design-build contract to NAC Constructors Ltd., which bid $12.6 million. The total cost of the project, including other aspects like concept design, the contract with Res’eau WaterNET, administrative costs, project management consulting, an arborist’s report, public education and contingency, is just over $14 million.
Last spring, White Rock received $11.8 million in federal and provincial grants toward the water treatment plant. The city will be responsible for paying for the rest.
The open house will take place at White Rock Community Centre on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.