WATER & WASTEWATER

Basic services like water and wastewater are often taken for granted because we assume all is well (pardon the pun).

People turn on the tap to get clean water and push the lever on the toilet to get rid of wastewater. All good.

Except when we have issues with the colour, odour or taste of our water or when the sewerage backs up. 

Both services are presently of high quality. But that wasn't always the case. 

We must be vigilant. We need to plan the future of our water and wastewater systems.

When I ran for Council the first time, in 1998, the quality of our water coming from the City-owned and operated Turtle Creek reservoir was awful and the regional sewerage treatment plant in Riverview was pumping sewerage and sludge into the Petitcodiac River. Successive councils since 1998 have overhauled the water treatment plant and built a second dam on the Turtle Creek and transformed the sewerage facility from a primary to a tertiary treatment plant.

I will not take credit for this progress, but I was privileged to sit on the Council that proactively built the second dam. Without the second dam, we would have run out of water during last year's drought.

I also had the privilege to sit on the regional wastewater commission (TransAqua) that transformed the primary sewerage facility into a tertiary wastewater treatment plant. It cost taxpayers about 100 million dollars, but it was well worth it for our health and our environment.

Our two dams can serve about 175,000 consumers based on the existing usage. 

If current demographic trends continue, our consumers will soon reach that number. Is a third dam required? Can we simply add it upstream of dam number 2? Otherwise, do we need to re-open the McLaughlin reservoir? If we don't use the McLaughlin reservoir, should we allow the Canadian Coast Guard and sailing clubs to use it?

The City has a policy to purchase over time all the private lots in the Turtle Creek watershed to protect our water. However, private lots will probably remain for generations. It is thus possible we may never be able to protect the watershed completely. If that is the case, how do we prevent developments that may pose a risk to our water? Should we re-hire a Reservoir Caretaker to keep a constant eye and ear on watershed activities? Should we reinstate the local stewardship committee and partnerships with universities for various research projects such as water quality, urban forest management, forest pests, stewardship projects and climate change? 

Blue-green algae poses an imminent danger. Cyanobacteria, the scientific term, are photosynthetic bacterial organisms naturally found in many types of water systems including lakes, rivers and wetlands. Our first major cyanobacterial bloom occurred in 2017. Many actions have been launched to mitigate future blooms. Is the problem resolved? Otherwise, what remains to be done?

Several additional questions must be answered before we can be sure our water and wastewater systems are good. 

The City needs a holistic plan for our water and wastewater. 

I commit to ensuring that our water and wastewater systems are effective and efficient.