With Black Diamond and Turner Valley’s water situation back on track for the first time in almost six years, officials will discuss where to go from here.
Since the flood demolished Black Diamond’s water treatment plant and most wells in both towns in 2013, residents faced strict rules for water consumption as the Towns and governments worked to establish new water sources.
The final project, a direct intake, was installed last winter to pump 1,650 cubic metres of water daily from the Sheep River north of Turner Valley, but a wrong part ordered and equipment failure saw Turner Valley’s raw-water reservoir that supplies both towns with water drop to 65 per cent.
With the intake now in full operation and an additional 1,600 cubic metres of water being drawn from the infiltration gallery and four wells funded by government flood recovery and disaster relief funds, the raw-water reservoir is now at full capacity, said Todd Sharpe, Turner Valley CAO and Sheep River Regional Utility Corporation (SRRUC) advisor.
Water consumption in both towns averages 1,600 cubic metres daily.
“The ability to fill the reservoir and recover from low reservoir levels is better now because the intake project has doubled our storage capacity,” said Sharpe last week. “I don’t know where our discussion will go with respect to reviewing the thresholds and triggers and what the new norm will be. It’s for council to decide and it’s certainly in consultation with our neighbours, but certainly the fact that our… ability to recover from drought conditions and in drawing from the reservoir is significantly improved, that’s a good thing.”
Sharpe said there may be other factors to consider as the Towns and SRRUC decide on a matrix for water restrictions or conservation levels moving forward.
SRRUC is a municipally-owned utility corporation that operates the supply, treatment and transmission of wholesale potable water to Black Diamond, Turner Valley and the surrounding area.
“Now that we’ve substantially completed all of the rehabilitation projects, we need to reassess those thresholds and triggers to decide if there are other considerations to factor in so that’s the first step,” he said. “Southern Alberta is continually under some sort of challenges with water supply. We have more than half the population in the south with only a fraction of the water.”
Councillors and administration from both towns will discuss the topic at the next friendship agreement meeting, expected to take place later this spring, to establish a uniform solution, said Sharpe.
“The implementation of water conservation measures or water restrictions is the responsibility of the respective councils,” he said, adding the CAOs ultimately decide which level to implement based on data provided by SRRUC.
Sharpe said the efforts of residents to conserve water since the flood have been commendable.
Sharlene Brown, SRRUC member and Black Diamond CAO, agrees residents have done their due diligence and she wants to see that continue despite the improved water situation.
“We just need to make sure that we’re looking after our water resources,” she said. “We’re looking at potentially going into a drought season. We just need to make sure that there is enough water in the system for everybody.”
Brown said it’s a conversation that needs to take place regionally.
“We need to be considerate of the needs of the citizens and the needs of the river and find some sort of balance,” she said.
Both communities are currently on Level 2 water restrictions.
In Black Diamond, this means non-commercial outdoor water use is restricted to Thursdays and Sundays between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., and 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. for odd numbered addresses and Wednesdays and Sundays the same hours for even numbered addresses.
The same applies in Turner Valley, except watering can take place an hour later in the evenings, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., on the designated days.
