A group of concerned citizens in the RM of Springfield has convinced the Provincial Ombudsman to investigate concerns about drinking water. At issue are the impact of gravel pits near the source of the water and whether the water treatment plant at Oakbank has sufficient capacity to meet demand.
Greg Elson, Director of Water and Waste for the municipality, says residents should not be concerned about the actions of the concerned citizens group. He notes the municipality has been working with the province to do regular testing for turbidity, or murkiness, at its wells near the gravel pits.
"There is turbidity in every ground water supply at some level. Ours is very minimal. We've been doing the testing for about a year-and-a-half. We have no targets to meet from the province. They've asked us to do the testing. We submit the records to them monthly and I think what they're looking for is variations, highs and lows. We've asked them several times, is there any indication (of a problem) and they have not indicated that there is any indication."
Shawn Tosh, Director of Engineering for Springfield, says they have also been working on a long term back-up plan for their wells.
"We want to ensure a safe, potable drinking water supply for the people of the communities and council has been very proactive at putting money forward to look at an alternative source that would be a back-up source, should there ever be a potential of contamination within the system. So, we are moving forward in a direction of providing back-ups and secondary sources for both the communities of Oakbank and Dugald."
As for the water treatment plant at Oakbank, Tosh says it has enough capacity.
"We have adequate capacity for the existing community. We have done studies for future upgrades which we'll be bringing forward in the coming years to be able to satisfy future developments."
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario