System in Crisis - Part 2

 Even a system that has been running well for years seemingly can't avoid a rough patch from time to time.  This time, January/February 2021, has been one of those.

It's been brewing for awhile.  Too few people doing too many of the tasks that are needed to keep things running.  Events started coming to a head a year or two ago when the "maintenance person" notified the Board that he would be moving sometime in the next 2 or 3 years.  This generated a wee bit of consternation, mostly because of the way tasks have been allocated  by default over the past few years.  If you look over this recent blog, System in Crisis - Part 1, you will see why.

The immediate reaction from the Board was to request the creation of an "operations manual" as well as some searching for someone who would be able to take over.  The result of this, in practical terms, was to create a whole new category of work - defining and documenting all of the steps that are regularly needed to keep a water system for around 50 people running every day, year after year.

On several occasions, the maintenance person was "out of town", so to speak, and when the inevitable issues popped up, it fell to a very small number of other community members to sort it out.  Some of those community members had been volunteering for the system for many years and were at the point in their lives that they didn't want to spend hours troubleshooting and fixing whatever had broken.  But unfortunately, by the time these issues popped up, there really were only 2 or perhaps 3 people in the whole subdivision who understood enough about the water system to figure out what was wrong and how to fix it.

Some of these "events" have been documented elsewhere.

The most recent event, though, was a leak (the second) at a property that has been more or less a problem child property for a couple of decades.  The leak was suspected around Christmas and confirmed at the beginning of January when the water meters were read.  The residents were notified.

Unfortunately, the residents were tenants, not the owners of the property.  Also unfortunately, the actual property owner was in the process of having the property taken away by foreclosure action meaning that there really wasn't an "owner" to deal with.  

The leak itself wasn't exceptional, although it was significant.  Around 7 m3 of water each day when the normal household demand would be closer to 0.5 m3 in 24 hours.  It worked out to close to half of all the water consumed in the subdivision each day.  That said, total water use in the system remained around one-third of the normal daily use during a hot, dry summer.  Serious, but not unmanageable.

The Board communicated with the tenants, with the owner, with the law firm involved, with a local contractor.  A plan was formulated, notice was given to the residents of the property and a deadline for action was established.

Unfortunately, that wasn't good enough for at least one resident who then proceeded to attempt to micromanage and undermine the decisions of the Board and criticize the actions of both the Board and the maintenance person, seemingly for not "being around" when a couple of events happened to take place, not taking the leak seriously enough, whatever.  It's important to keep in mind that this maintenance position is a volunteer position, not a paid position, but also to note, once again, that there really aren't any other people in the subdivision who can troubleshoot and fix things that go wrong.  Other than the one person who was doing most of the complaining.

Board members were, understandably, upset.  As of this writing, two have resigned, one has agreed to stay on for a short time until things can be sorted out, two new Board members have been recruited and the maintenance person has given notice that he intends to step away from all his volunteer duties sooner rather than later.  The word "immediately" was only avoided by some luck, the quick actions of two remaining Board members and the resignation of another.  And, fortunately, no further criticism from the bleachers.

As the Board-imposed deadline arrived, so did an excavating contractor, and within 2 days, the leak was fixed.  Pretty much as the Board had dared to hope it would.

But now, we have a number of angry, upset community members, a Board in disarray, and the possible prospect of losing the one person who has been doing much of the nuts and bolts work to keep the system running over the past several years.  It hasn't been a happy time here in Shangri-La.

One of the lessons from this is that an organization should never take happy times for granted.  They are unlikely to last.

System in Crisis - Part 1

It seems that, over the years, organizations get into the habit of "letting someone else" do stuff.  Eventually, that can result in a few individuals handling almost everything.  In our organization, this situation has reached a point where something has to be done.

This is currently how our system runs and who runs it.

The Board of Management:

    Ideally, there should be 5 members on the Board whose job it is to oversee the management of the entire system.  Recently there have been only 4 Board members.  With recent resignations and new additions, there appear to be 4 again.

The Water Teams:

    A dozen or so members are assigned to (normally) 2-person teams that are responsible for four things during a 2-week period on a rotational schedule with other teams: 1) monitor the reservoir level, 2) adjust the lake pump timer accordingly, 3) keep bleach tank topped up and 4) clean the filters at an appropriate interval.  Once the automated level and pump control system is operational, the reservoir level should not require much monitoring but there will be the facility to do that monitoring online.  Note that not all teams actively carry out all 4 of the tasks mentioned above.

Water Sampling:

    Takes water samples from the reservoir and one other location and delivers them to IHA's facility in town so they can be tested for the presence of bacteria.    

    Traditionally, this has been handled by one person but could be shared by a small team carrying out the job in some kind of rotation.

    This is a critical task that must be carried out properly and with care.

Maintenance:

    At this point, January 2021, one person is now responsible for looking after all of the following, with exceptions noted where appropriate.

    Financial:

• receiving meter readings and updating the billing spreadsheet.  Note: quarterly meter readings have been handled by another community member for a good number of years and there are now two people can share this job.

• integrating that spreadsheet into the quarterly statements

• emailing statements to water users (snail mail for two residents)

• logging on and recording all online payments for about a month after each quarterly billing period.

• recording all e-transfers.  Note: payments by cheque are received and deposited by a board member, unfortunately one who has recently decided to resign from the board.

• paying all bills

• keeping all financial records, reconciling statements, annual volunteer credits, etc

• investing society funds in appropriate deposits

• Preparing and presenting financial statements to the Board and to each AGM

• Purchasing - see details in next section.

    Maintenance:

• looking after ALL maintenance items which can include electrical wiring changes, magnetic pump switches, pump hookups, pipe fitting, replacing leaky valves, leaky pipe fittings, etc.

• installing ALL new equipment, planning for that installation, welding, pipe cutting, pipe layouts, wiring, etc.

• Planning and carrying out the water meter project starting in 2008, installing many of the meters, some with the help of a plumber, others with another volunteer or two, building the boxes for the meters that are installed by the street, inspecting those meters and boxes on a regular basis each year and repairing meters when defective.

• Chlorine tests, chlorine injector adjustments, injector repairs, new diaphragms, cleaning, etc.  Note: water samples for weekly bacteriological tests have been carried out by another volunteer which has contributed greatly to keeping our system in compliance with the province's water quality requirements.

• Turbidity measurements at certain times of the year.

• Scheduling reservoir cleaning and the occasional high-chlorine sterilization of the entire distribution system.

• Inspection of filters, replacing those that seem worn out.

• Monitoring and adding bleach to the tank when it gets too low.  Note:  some, but not all, water teams include this in their duties.

• Monitoring reservoir levels and adjusting the lake pump timer when necessary.  Note: some water teams do this as part of their duties.

• Regular inspection of our three buildings, making sure heat is on in the winter, off in the summer, that there are no leaks.  Checking for potential building repairs.

• Checking and adjusting the air charge of the pressure tanks at the reservoir.

• Planning for ALL future repairs, modifications: researching, ordering parts, arranging for contractors, etc.  Currently, for the 2021 season, the maintenance lineup includes a major main line valve replacement, a remote reservoir level monitoring program with remote pump control capabilities, the addition of one new property to our system, a planned overhaul of our fire hydrants (the first in 40 years) and researching the possibility of adding UV treatment to our processes.

• Flushing the hydrants, standpipes and distribution lines usually twice each summer.  This is now planned to include scheduled hydrant maintenance: disassembly, lubrication, gasket replacement when necessary.

• Disposing of all garbage and recyclable containers from the treatment building.

• Purchasing - Once every month or two:  Bleach -  buying from Walmart or the RCWC in Nelson and delivering to treatment building; Occasionally:  O-rings for filter canisters, diaphragms for injectors, any other parts (valves, water meters, repair parts for water meters, pumps, magnetic switches, etc).

    Secretarial:

• completing annual reports to two different government departments in support of our water license.

• writing an annual report for our EHO at IHA.

• Recording data from the treatment building and reservoir, collecting financial information, etc., to use in those annual reports.

• Responding to requests to update the “property table” with contact information for residents.

• Filing annual online reports to BC Societies following each AGM. This also included a one time rewriting our Constitution and Bylaws so they could be transitioned to the new online system now used by BC Societies.

• Maintaining the Society's filing system.

• Managing the volunteer list, arranging for volunteer credits and keeping track of volunteer hours and maintenance activities.

    Training:

• training and/or orientation for every new recruit in recent years – water team members, for example. This also included training for a member who very helpfully took over the bookkeeping system for a number of years, a job that has now reverted to the maintenance person again. Training for another member when they started taking meter readings a number of years ago.  Note: In more recent months, our meter reader person has helped by training a new volunteer to collect meter readings on a quarterly basis. Additionally, another member has recently taken on the training of a new person to take water samples for bacteriological testing.

    Miscellaneous:

• meeting with operators of other water systems (RDCK at Ymir, Lardeau, Schroeder Creek, Woodbury, Fletcher, Mirror Lake), viewing their systems and hosting a number of visits for those interested in seeing our own system.

• meeting with IHA's EHO and handling questions and requests from her many times over the years.  It's worth noting that this area of communication has become more difficult in recent years to the point that we only communicate in writing, keeping a permanent record of all communication.

• Setting up and managing the Society's email address and writing ALL of the content for our website which includes operations instructions and a mandatory emergency plan required by IHA and our regulatory departments in Victoria.

• Preparing rate increase submissions to Victoria

• FireSmart, while not specifically a Society function, takes more time. Two members have been involved in planning and reviewing suggestions about those plans, another has worked with the maintenance person on several occasions and some other community members helped in the initial year, 2019, and some have done good work around their own properties. This past COVID year it's been mostly the maintenance person with help from two other dedicated members. Some of our plans also involve making the Society's buildings more fire resistant, so the Society (ie: the Board) needs to be involved.

Annual General Meeting 2017

We've had a good deal of water under the bridge, so to speak, since I last posted.  I guess it's a case of events taking over the agenda.  Over the past year and a half, the system has had to deal with a couple of major leaks, the startup of a medical marijuana grow operation in the subdivision, some equipment issues, over 25% of the properties changing hands....  Let's just say that it's been busy.

First, however, let's deal with the AGM held in late September 2017.

Aside from the usual business, there were two special resolutions that had to be dealt with.

First, was a general rate increase.  Our last increase was in 2011.  Since then, it goes without saying, the cost of everything we purchase has increased: hydro, water treatment materials, repair parts.  The proposal to generally increase rates by about 10% was approved by the membership.

One feature of the new rate structure was the addition of a 4th Rate Tier.  Because of one major issue of excessive water use (as described in another post), and as suggested during a meeting with a representative from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources (MoFLNR), it was decided that the most expedient way to deal with gross waste of water would  be to incorporate a 4th rate level that would be, simply put, punitive.  Accordingly, anything over 200 m3 in a quarter would be charged at a rate of $4/m3.

Partly because of this waste of water issue and also the need to move our bylaws online to meet requirements of the BC Societies Act, it was decided that we needed a re-write of our bylaws.  There was a proposal put forward to the membership, but it was deemed to have too many residual difficulties and so a committee was set up which would do the re-write and present that to the membership.  

The remainder of the meeting was devoted to welcoming new members to the subdivision, electing a Board of Directors, receiving various reports and having some general chit chat.

Water, Water, Everywhere...

Starting in late fall 2016 and continuing until May 2017, the system experienced a couple of significant leaks that consumed a good deal of volunteer time and required considerable sleuthing to track down.  You would think that such volumes of water would be easy to follow to their source, but such was not the case. The story unfolded this way...

Late in the fall of 2016, it was noticed that the reservoir level was dropping more than would normally be expected, given the time of year.  Obviously, a leak.  But where was it?  We wandered the route of the main line, we wandered around the different properties, we checked consumption at water meters, but we still couldn't figure out where the water was going.  One complicating factor was the amount of snow we had that winter.  Feet of it, making it nearly impossible to see wet ground, not to mention the thought of digging holes to fix anything.

Then, one day in mid-March, as I was spending some time wandering around, wondering where the leak (or leaks....) were, I happened to open a curb-side meter box and what to my wondering eyes did appear but a foot or two of water in what should have been a dry hole.

Unfortunately, this was only days before I was leaving for 6 weeks in Europe, and there was still snow around....  We decided to wait.

One practice we had been following was to turn off the water to the west and lower part of the subdivision at night, in the desire to lose less water.  We'd been doing this every night between 9 pm and 6 am.  We decided to keep that up for another 6 weeks.  Later in April, we set to work.

Once we started digging, the leak became apparent pretty quickly.  What's amazing is how much water can disappear through a relatively small hole.  And that's all it was.  A piece of copper pipe with a small hole right at a fitting.  A few hours of work and that was fixed.

Observation over the following few days indicated that our problems hadn't been solved.  Large volumes of water were still going somewhere.

By early May, we had determined that at least some of it was going to one particular property, one which had, initially unknown to us, started a medical marijuana grow operation, using large amounts of water for cooling purposes.  In mid-May, we decided to install a second water meter near the shutoff valve at the edge of the property.  Just as we were preparing to dig that hole, I received a call from a neighbour on the adjoining property.  Were there springs in the area, she wanted to know.

So the next day, after we excavated for the additional water meter, we dug a small hole along the side of the house where the "spring" seemed to be, and found a break in a waterline.  An hour later and it was fixed.

Our problems weren't over, as the next post will explain.

Annual General Meeting

The Society's AGM was held on August 22nd.

In addition to the usual business conducted, there was some discussion about water rates (a slight adjustment to the rates was approved) and, of all things, the mosquito control program.

Because of a Board member leaving the community, one vacancy was filled by a new member.

Minutes of the meeting and financial statements were presented and circulated by e-mail.  Any member wishing further information should contact the Society.

Water Quality During the Spring Runoff

It's spring.  Snow in the surrounding hills is melting.  As everyone here knows, this increases the sediment in the streams and rivers and makes our water source, Kootenay Lake, more murky, or turbid.

While increased turbidity isn't necessarily unsafe, it's considered an indication of risk.

If you want to read a short article from Interior Health, you can find it here:

http://www.interiorhealth.ca/YourEnvironment/DrinkingWater/Documents/turbidity.pdf

In our water system, we have several ways of dealing with turbidity and monitoring the safety of our system.

1. We filter the lake water and clean filters regularly
2. We treat with chlorine
3. We test chlorine levels regularly
4. We can also test for turbidity

Recent tests (as of April 30, 2013) show Lake water from our intakes (about 100 ft deep) to have a turbidity of around 3.5 NTU.  This would merit a water quality advisory if we were drinking unfiltered and untreated water. Anything over 5 NTU rates a boil water advisory.   After filtering and treating, turbidity measurements show around 0.5 NTU or less.  This is what you are getting in your taps and is considered "good" according to IHA.

Chlorine tests done every few days show a free chlorine level of around 0.5 ppm at the reservoir.  Sometimes it's bit higher, very occasionally, it drops below that level.  We aim to keep the free chlorine level at around 0.4 to 0.7 at the reservoir.

We also take water samples regularly to send in for bacteriological tests.  If bacteria were still in our drinking water, it would show up in our test results.  Fortunately, we have had quite a few years of negative results other than a small number of positive results following a drop in chlorine levels as a result of an equipment failure.  Generally our regular monitoring catches these situations before they become problems.

If anyone has questions or concerns about our water or would like more information about our testing procedure, contact us at prwus.info@gmail.com.

Pine Ridge Water Utility Society is owned and operated by members of the Society which is made up of residents of the Pine Ridge subdivision.  We depend on volunteers.

Conferring with Interior Health

Took part of the day Wednesday to go on a bit of a field trip. One objective was to see the water treatment at Ymir (see next post), and the second objective was to meet with Renee Ansell, Interior Health's Water Safety Officer.

The meeting in Nelson was quite productive; it was useful to discuss some of the issues we're looking at with our water system. We discussed how we might best consider a Cross Contamination Control Program (CCCP), where the most likely sources of contamination might be and what would be effective ways to deal with them.

We also talked briefly about a couple of possible maintenance issues and potential upgrades and what we would need to do before we start those projects.

It was also nice to hear that our water system is well-regarded in the way we operate our system. Always nice to know the regulator is happy with what we're doing.

Setting the Record Straight - Again!

The Society has decided to respond to recent allegations about our water meter project by issuing the following statement:

"It has been brought to our attention that an election campaign worker has been making inaccurate allegations about the water meter project in Pine Ridge Subdivision. The facts are: meters were approved by a very substantial majority vote of Water Society members at it's 2007 AGM; the Provincial ombudsman dismissed one complaint, finding our process fair, democratic and transparent; the meters meet all required certifications; the Regional District's building department has no issues with our meters. For accurate information about this project, please contact the Society."

We're not sure why or how this became connected with municipal elections, but we suppose stranger things have happened. As has been said elsewhere....people who disagree with you are entitled to their own opinions...but not their own facts.

For the full, much longer story, read this earlier post....

Water Meters - Four Years On

This is the long version of the Society's progress through our water meter project, started back in 2007, written to provide some historical perspective and a reminder of how much work such a project involves. One starting point: the Water Society is owned by it's members which includes property owners in the Subdivision. Homeowners must become members before they can connect to the water system. There are some members who have not built homes on their lots yet, but the vast majority of Society members live in their homes in the subdivision. There is an elected Board that manages the water system and a number of members volunteer to help maintain and operate the system on a day-to-day basis.

The Basic Chronology:

Summer of 2007 - at the Annual General Meeting of Society members, it was voted by a large majority to proceed with water meters and to investigate possible grants to help with the costs.

Summer of 2008 - during this summer, most meters were installed. Some went inside homes, some went in underground boxes near the street shut-off valves. In all cases, the work was done to accommodate homeowners. Some did not want the meters inside their homes and they were accommodated. In a couple of instances, inside locations would have been difficult to use. In one or two cases, there were yard standpipes between the street and the house so we didn't interfere with those either. By fall, most connections were on water meters. During this time, information was sent to all members addressing, once again, the reasons for meters, how the billing would work and so on. Federal Grant money was obtained that paid for many of the costs of the project.

Calendar year 2009 - during this year, meters were read quarterly and "sample statements" were sent to all residents indicating what their water use was and what it would cost assuming the rate structure was approved by the members. During this year, all connections were billed using the flat rate system, using a rate that had been in effect since 2003.

AGM 2009 - at the annual AGM, the proposed rate structure was presented to the members and it was approved by a nearly unaminous vote. The approved rate structure was used in our application to the Water Comptroller in Victoria and was allowed. Also during this time, the meters helped to identify a few water leaks that had been previously unknown.

Calendar year 2010 - the new rate structure took effect at the beginning of 2010. The rate structure included a daily connection rate and three levels based on quarterly consumption.

Calendar year 2011 - one outside meter was moved inside to a resident's basement, a new house was constructed which involved substantial discussion about metering, again, and the Society approved, at it's AGM, the first real rate incrrease since 2003.

Why We Meter:

The decision to install water meters was based on several considerations:

1) To help reduce water use - this is not because we worry about the amount of water in Kootenay Lake, but how much water we can store in our reservoir, our pumping capacity and the cost and work associated with supplying our water. Our system is run by a relatively small number of volunteers who do all the work, subsidizing, by their labours, everyone who contributes nothing.

2) Water is a commodity - we pay for other commodities based on how much we use. There is no reason why water should be treated any differently.

3) Fairness - everyone who uses smaller amounts of water is subsidizing the relative few who use lots more water, as long as we remain on a flat rate system.

Opposition to Meters:

Obviously, not everyone saw the need for meters from the outset, and a small but vocal minority has seized on every opportunity and every argument, no matter how farfetched, to oppose the project. The arguments, basically, have been as follows:

1) There is lots of water in Kootenay Lake. True, but that's the problem. It's in the Lake, 400 feet below where it's used, and it costs money to operate the infrastructure to pump, filter and treat this water. Everyone should be payng their fair share of these costs, based on how much water they are using.

2) Meters were forced on us. Not true. This was the most democratic, fair and open process imaginable (see above). PRWUS is a privately owned system and members voted to abopt water meters. There was no pressure on us from the outside and we had no discussions with anyone from outside about the project.

3) The meters aren't certified. Again, not true. They aren't CSA certified, but, as parts of the water distribution system, they don't need to be, unlike plumbing fixtures which DO need to be CSA approved. The meters are ANSI/NSF 61 certified and AWWA C700 certified. If you want to know what these are, just ask.

4) Just run the pumps 24/7/365 if you need more water. Surely, this can't be a serious suggestion. Perhaps it makes sense if you're not involved in volunteering to help run the system (cleaning filters, maintaining the system), or contributing your fair share of the operational costs (hydro, chlorine, filters), or dealing with the replacement costs in a system that is over 30 years old and would wear out even faster if used in this way.

5) Water meters are just a money grab. Not true. For FY 2010, the total revenue is almost exactly the same as it was before meters. True, some people pay more, but others pay less, just like anything else. It should be pointed out that our Society, like most small water systems in BC, does not have enough money put aside to deal with a major breakdown or catastrophe. Almost no water systems are charging enough for their water now. Systems recently taken over by the Regional District are paying 2 to 3 times as much as we are. We are constantly being encouraged by Victoria to make sure we are charging enough $$ to pay for future repairs to the system.

6) We don't like meters. Fair enough. I'd rather not have my electricty metered. Honest, I'd be careful about my use of power. Right.

At one point during the meter project, one resident filed a complaint with the Provincial Ombudsman. The complaint was rejected once the Ombudsman learned about the process the Society had followed (see above). At another point, a local plumber refused to work with the meters because he claimed they were not CSA approved. This has been settled. We also have - in writing - the Regional District's Building Department's position on water meters and our right, as the water utility, to choose our equipment and install it as we see fit. Appeals have been made to the Water Comptroller in Victoria opposing meters in certain residences. The Comptroller suggested that we could put the meters outside and charge the owners for the additional cost. We didn't go that far, although we could have.

In summary, it's been a long, sometimes tiring journey, but we can't imagine turning back. Meters for water are coming, even to this part of BC. Water quality regulations mean that supplying water to the public can't be done the way it was 50 years ago. Most people who look at this issue sensibly and rationally, will arrive at the same conclusion as we did.

Water Meters - The Final Word?

The past month or so has been partly taken up with a "discussion" about putting a water meter inside a new house being built in the Subdivision. In the past few days, we've received information that appears to decide the whole issue.

Our Regional District does have a view on meters. Essentially their view is that each water utility makes its own by-laws (regarding other matters as well as meters). Meters are slowly being adopted in some communities but there is opposition despite their obvious value. It could be noted that our Society overwhelmingly voted to adopt water meters at the 2007 AGM. We received a grant that covered most of the cost of the project, we used the meters for a whole year before bringing in a new rate structure in 2010 and we reported this to all members as the project unfolded.

Our information is that water meters are not considered to be plumbing fixtures and do not have to be CSA approved. They are, instead, part of the water distribution system which PRWUS owns and operates.

The meters we use ARE certified to the following standards: ANSI/NSF 61 (which specifies the level of lead allowed in the copper alloy meter body) and AWWA C-700 (which specifies the accuracy of the meters). Our Trident T-10 meters (manufactured by Neptune) have a no-lead copper alloy body and are displacement-type meters common in residential applications. Measurement Canada recommended in 2004 that the AWWA standard be adopted for all meters.

The meters themselves are highly unlikely to leak, despite any rumours that there have been leaks. We are not aware of ANY leaks related to any of our installations. The meters have a one-piece alloy body with a base held on by robust bolts and two seals. The only chance of leaks might be from connections to the plumbing system, as there might be with any other pipe joint. We have had one case of a meter making a squeaking noise. This was traced to a small circular magnet rubbing on the inside of the housing, an issue that was easy to fix.

The result of all this kafuffle is that we now have a statement from the Regional District that we can make our own decisions regarding water meters and that they are not a concern to the building inspectors. It is unfortunate that a small, vocal minority continues to oppose meters, but we feel our experience has been positive and has been shown to be the only fair way to allocate the cost of the water being delivered.

This may not be "the final word" but it does seem to move the whole discussion forward in a favourable direction.

Those Water Meters Again!

With a new house being built in our subdivision, the first in a few years, there has been some "discussion" about water meters, specifically where they should go.

When water meters first went in about 3 years ago, most were placed in the most sensible location: inside the houses, in the basements, where they are protected from frost, corrosion and where the owner can see them. To accommodate a few property owners, and an even smaller number of uncooperative property owners, a small number of meters were placed in boxes out by the street valve. Entirely the wrong place to put such things, but, there you are. More expense, more maintenance, less safety....

This morning, one new owner and I moved one of these "pit meters" inside to the basement. The job took the usual 2 hours, but we're on the way to taking the meters out of this box (shown in the photo above) and placing them in their respective basements. The photo shows why such street locations are the wrong way to go: the boxes rot, the hole starts to cave in and any fixes are expensive and time-consuming, not to mention such holes as significant safety hazards. In my mind, they need to go, as soon as possible.

Another Year Passes

The New Year has arrived, and besides the usual end-of-year hype, the date marks our first full year with water meters, consumption-based water rates and our new billing system. One of the most noticeable things is the big variation in water use between households. Not that this has been any surprise, but it reinforces the importance of households paying for what they use, just as we do for other commodities and services. Households using less are paying less. Households using more water are paying more. It's much more fair to everyone and also provides an incentive to be more aware of how much water we are using.

The time and money invested in system repairs over the past year indicate once again the costs of keeping our water system running safely and efficiently. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the system: Board members, maintenance team members, water team members; by fixing things, taking water samples, cleaning filters, making decisions about system operations, monitoring water levels, and so on.

Happy New Year.

Water Society AGM

The Society's AGM for the Fiscal Year 2009 was held on Sunday afternoon. About 18 members attended. A few basic highlights:

Maintenance (a favourite topic on this blog) has been in high gear since last spring and many essential projects have been completed with others identified for future attention. A few items remain on the agenda to complete before winter.

So far in 2010, about 175 volunteer hours of work have been contributed to the maintenance of the system. This doesn't include the time spent by people on water teams, the Board, taking water samples, testing for chlorine, doing the financial records and so on.

Financially, the Society is in good shape. It is unlikely that we will have a profit this year given our maintenance spending, but we should be close to a break-even situation by year-end.

The new metered water rates seem to be working well and should provide the Society with about as much revenue as did the old flat-rate system.

Several other items of a routine nature were discussed at the meeting, some of which will be addressed in future posts to this space.

The meeting was followed by a potluck supper.

Water Society's AGM - Sept 26th, 2010

The 10th Annual General Meeting of the Water Society will be held on Sunday, September 26th, 2010 at 3:00 pm at the Kaslo Senior's Hall, 304 - 4th St.

The agenda and minutes of the 2009 AGM have been mailed to all Society members.

The meeting will be followed by a Society-hosted potluck meal. Please bring a salad or dessert.

Please RSVP by Sept 23rd so meeting organizers will be able to plan quantities.

If there are other items for the agenda, please call or e-mail with suggestions.

Under Cover

After an all-day session of work on Monday, the water line box up the cliff from the lake has been insulated and covered with new plywood. Some repairs remain to be completed, but at least now the cover is completed and the new insulation has been protected (we hope) from rodents by wire mesh installed inside the box.

Since repairs were started 2 months ago, a total of 53.5 volunteer person-hours have been put into this project, not counting some time spent in obtaining materials, cutting up plywood and generally preparing for the work.

During the project, it was discovered that almost all of the main water line was not insulated at all because of the dedicated work of mice and pack-rats and their urge to move the materials in the box around. It was very lucky that the main water line didn't freeze during some of our cold spells during the past couple of winters. In addition, the old plywood and supporting structures were found to be in pretty desperate shape. We have at least started to replace and repair that structure.

Thanks to to several member volunteers from the community for the hours of work spent fixing this structure: Bill J, Dave, Bob C, Gerda, Doug and Hugh, some of whom put in many hours over the past 2 months and especially to the group for spending all of Monday in +30C heat to complete the remaining part of the project in one day. A few hours of work remain to cover some of the last defects in the old box with new treated plywood, but at least now the majority of the repairs are done. Thanks again to the members who helped out on this important project.

The Next Project

Today, Bob C, Bill J and I spent a short time examining the insulated box that encloses the water line between the lake and the top of the cliff. It was identified as one project that needed urgent attention this season.

The pictures tell the story. The plywood covering the box is in a sad condition and badly needs replacing. So too are many of the supporting timbers and posts around the box. The 30-year-old structure is certainly showing its age.

The inside of the box was even worse than we had expected. You can see the exposed pipe. This is how it appeared as we opened the box up. Rodents have moved so much material that much of the pipe, in this location, at least, is exposed and not insulated. The only thing that keeps it from freezing in the winter is the "heat tape" that circles the pipe along its length.

The plan here is to start at the bottom and slowly work our way up the cliff, reinforcing and replacing where needed and, hopefully, encasing the pipe and insulation with a material that the rodents can't get through.

The nice thing about this project is that it doesn't all have to be done at once. We're planning a few days of a couple of hours each, working away in the sun, until it's finished. Anyone who can donate some time to help should contact us and be part of the fun.

We need to paint/stain/preserve the wood on the box and the stairs, replace insulation, install rodent-proof wire, reinforce/replace the wood members and plywood covers, and construct a concrete anchor to facilitate removal of pumps when necessary. We have until fall to get this finished.

Intake Extension - Part 5 & 6

After having to cancel one attempt to attach the new intakes on Saturday because of high winds, we were hoping to complete the job on Monday.

A large group of neighbours answered the call and gathered in the early morning on the beach to launch the assembled pieces. The water was a bit cold, but within a few minutes, the new pipe support and the assembled pipes were afloat and began their short trip over to the intake location.

Unfortunately, as we came out of the bay, we met the wind, coming straight down the Lake from the north. We managed to get the pipes delivered to their new location, but attaching them was quite impossible with the boat being tossed around by the waves.

After a couple of attempts, we tied everything off to the shore and went home for the day.

At 4:45 pm, we got the call from the diver. The Lake is almost mirror calm and we collect our tools, call a few neighbours and meet at the Lake for 6 pm. Within 2 hours, all the connections are made and the cage is lowered to it's spot on the bottom. It was quite a contrast to our experience earlier in the day.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support this project, help launch the pipe assembly, drive the boat, go for parts, wade in the water, provide moral support, get up early in the morning and, later in the day, give up their evening to finish the job. It's the kind of help that makes a community-owned water system possible and it is all greatly appreciated.

Intake Extension - Part 4

The new intake lines are ready and now we wait for calm weather so they can be towed out into the Lake and connected to the ends of our old lines.

The original plan was for Saturday morning, but there was a strong north wind and whitecaps were zipping along on the Lake. Not the kind of weather we were hoping for.

All we need is a few hours of calm weather (warm would also be nice...) and a crew of volunteers, all to happen at the same time.

Intake Extension - Part 3

The diver removed the old intakes the other day. As the photo shows, they were certainly showing the effects of being in the lake for 30 years.

Some of the protective mesh has come off and there was much algae and muck on the pipes.

Two large metal flanges were installed so we can bolt on the new intake lines as they are connected, hopefully in a few days.

I was struck by how shallow the pumps are, even considering the low water level in the lake. Right now, they are probably no more than 5 feet below the surface.

Intake Extension - Part 2

The pipe for our intake extension arrived on Friday. Two-hundred feet of HDPE pipe complete with welded flanges and miscellaneous parts.

We were able to have the trucker meet our group of helpers at Mirror Lake to unload, allowing us to carry the pieces down to the Lake where we tied them to several flotation devices. Later in the morning, we towed the assembled flotilla around to Beauty Beach where they will be assembled in readiness for being attached to our existing pipes.

Thanks to the group of neighbours who helped unload and to another neighbour for the loan of a boat and motor for the tow around the corner.

The project continues.