Routine Operations Summary
Maintenance Schedule
Pine Ridge Water Utility Society
Weekly:
1) Every Tuesday, take two water samples, one from reservoir and another from somewhere closer to the highway and deliver to the Primary Health Center in Kaslo. This is a test for bacteria. IHA does the testing. There is a special requisition form that needs to be filled out and sent in with each set of samples. Although we are notified if there is a bad result, the most recent week's results can be seen here:
https://www.interiorhealth.ca/YourEnvironment/DrinkingWater/Pages/WaterSamples.aspx
Details about how to do this testing can be found HERE.
2) Do a chlorine test at the reservoir at least once a week, or more often if things seem to be changing. Record the results in the notebook kept in the reservoir pumphouse.
3) On a regular basis clean/change water filters at the treatment shed based on the hours the lake pump runs (this is the responsibility of members on various water teams).
4) Monitor water levels at the reservoir and increase or decrease the lake pump timer accordingly. Note: normally, one foot of water in the reservoir requires about 4 hours of pump run time. Fill the reservoir at night when use is low as this gives us the most contact time for the chlorine to do its job.
Annually:
1) Twice a year, check air charge in tanks at the reservoir. Proper air pressure allows for more efficient pumps operation. It is suggested that this be done once later in the fall and once earlier in the spring.
2) Periodically, in summer, run water out of hydrants and standpipes to flush any sediment out. (5 hydrants; 5 stand pipes.) Pay particular attention to ends of distribution lines. [Note: if running water out of hydrants on the west side of the subdivision, it's best to turn off the floor gate valve in the reservoir pump house otherwise the increased water flow will cause the main pump to lose its prime.]
3) When flushing distribution lines, it's usually a good idea to turn on one lake pump manually and temporarily increase the chlorine injectors. Allow this to run for perhaps 30 to 60 minutes before flushing lines. This practice introduces slightly higher chlorine levels to all parts of the distribution system, especially lines where there is lower water use.
4) As winter begins and temperatures drop to below freezing over night, plug in the heat traces & set the baseboard heaters in the various locations. This is usually done by turning on the appropriate circuit breaker in each building. Also, with a siphon hose, make sure water is drained from any standpipes that don't have self-draining valves (ie: Pangburn standpipe, Hilderman standpipe, Matto standpipe).
Other:
Every two to three years, drain and clean reservoir. This involves removing the floor drain plug and opening the drain valve, sweeping any sediment into the drain and, if necessary, pressure washing the walls of the reservoir. Note that one lake pump can be left on during this process so water service will not be interrupted. There are separate instructions being developed regarding this process.
Every five years (?), super-chlorinate the entire water system. There are separate instructions regarding this process. This process was last done in early April 2019.
If there is an occasion where untreated water is pumped into the system, superchlorinate and clean the system before using.
If there is a fire:
Turn on at least one lake pump so water can be added to the reservoir. If the situation is serious, both pumps can be turned on in which case, bypass the filtration system. Note earlier caution about introducing untreated water to the reservoir.
Close the gate valve on the floor of the reservoir pump house. If water is being drawn from hydrants, the vastly increased flow does not work well with the pressurizing pump. Note that the 6-inch check valve in the reservoir pump house will still allow water to be drained from hydrants, but the floor gate valve must be turned off.
If it is a house fire, locate and turn off the street valve to that house in case the fire damages or breaks water lines in the house.
If it is a brush fire and it seems feasible, collect hoses, adapters and nozzles from the nearest location and connect to a hydrant so at least something can be done to the fire until professionals arrive. This equipment is distributed around the subdivision with some extra equipment stored at the reservoir. At least several members should be aware of where all this equipment is located. Before this action is started, have someone go to the reservoir pump house and turn off the floor gate valve (see paragraph above).