WATER NEWS
Boil water advisory issued for White Rock & part of South Surrey
August 21st, 2010Residents of White Rock, BC are being told to boil their water after tests detected a low level of coliform bacteria in the city's water supply. The Fraser Health Authority's David ... More »
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News & Initiatives
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Boil water advisory issued for White Rock & part of South Surrey
Saturday, August 21st, 2010Residents of White Rock, BC are being told to boil their water after tests detected a low level of coliform bacteria in the city’s water supply.
The Fraser Health Authority’s David Plug says the boil advisory also covers about 80 homes in neighbouring South Surrey, “I believe the street numbers are 136 to 148. This is a precaution. Routine tests found that there was a small amount of contamination at one of the wells that is used by the water system. It’s just standard practice in that case to flush the system and chlorinate it. There have been no reports of anyone being sick from this.”
Affected residents are urged to boil their water for one minute prior to drinking, brushing teeth or washing food.
Plug says the advisory could last one week, “Although it could end sooner, it all depends on how quickly we get a series of test results back that are clear.”
Members of the public who have general questions are advised to call EPCOR at 604-536-6112.
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FOLK FESTIVAL KICKS THE BOTTLED WATER HABIT
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Self-serve water stations dispense free filtered water at 33rd annual event
Hydrating thousands of people at a hot summer event doesn’t require a mountain of throw-away plastic water bottles. Recognizing the need for a more sustainable option, the Vancouver Folk Festival will provide self-serve water dispensing stations for free and easy access to fresh drinking water at this year’s event on July 16-18 at Jericho Park.
The Festival has invited the help of watermatters®, a Vancouver-based company that hooks up to the city water supply for dispensing free filtered water at public events. Mary Johnston, watermatters CEO, says “water bottled in plastic is clearly passé.
Public awareness is changing fast and people are responding eagerly to the self-serve dispensing stations”. -
Canadian Rivers Day
Thursday, June 10th, 2010June 13th is Canadian Rivers Day. Take action for laws that will protect BC from oil spills. In 2010, honouring BC’s watersheds holds particular importance, because BC’s river ecosystems face unimaginable threat. West Coast Environmental Law is calling on British Columbians to stand up for the 1,000+ rivers at risk of harm and devastation from the crude oil pipeline and supertankers project proposed by Enbridge Inc. This proposed pipeline will move tar sands oil across countless rivers and streams in northern BC, from Alberta to Kitimat, to supertankers travelling coastal routes near the delicate estuaries and outlets of numerous rivers on their way to Asian markets.
Federal and provincial regulation cannot prevent oil tanker and pipeline spills and leaks in BC – and they have failed to stop such spills in the past. We need laws that will protect British Columbia’s coastal and inland waters.
Pine River BC pipeline oil spill, August 2000, photo courtesy of Wayne Sawchuk
Consider the recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, or the Exxon Valdez closer to home, to comprehend the scale of massive destruction that is possible.
For Canadian Rivers Day please make a donation to West Coast to help ensure that the integrity of BC’s rivers becomes safeguarded through the law.
Enbridge recently filed its application with the National Energy Board (NEB), and it will be reviewed by a joint review panel comprised of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the NEB. NEB is made up of a number of people who are appointed by the federal government, primarily representatives from industry. The panel for the Enbridge project has 2 of these permanent members of the NEB sitting on it and one temporary member appointed just for the Enbridge project, a First Nations representative from Ontario with a history in the mining industry.
Statistics show that 99% of the projects submitted to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency have been approved, even if significant adverse environmental and socio-economic effects were found.
On June 21, 2002, Canada’s government issued a proclamation declaring that the second Sunday of June would be celebrated annually as Canadian Rivers Day.
It is time for our government to walk the talk.
The Enbridge pipeline will cross over 1,000 British Columbian streams and rivers, passing through the headwaters of the Fraser, Skeena and Mackenzie watersheds. Potential spills and leaks into our waters will affect communities and wildlife far beyond the point of the rupture; in a river’s fast moving waters, spilled oil is practically impossible to contain or to clean up. For example, the toxic effects of an oil spill into the Fraser river system could be felt for hundreds of kilometres, stretching through at least 77 communities, including 39 First Nations, and ecosystems along the entire length of the Fraser River and into the Pacific Ocean.
Alberta tar sands development ranks as one of the most damaging energy projects on the planet.
And every British Columbian stands to be affected by dirty oil.
Thwarting the expansion of tar sands infrastructure into BC – and thereby constraining Canada’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions – is a top priority at West Coast Environmental Law. We continue to work tirelessly for reforms to environmental assessment law and practice on major development projects such as the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline proposal to transport tar sands oil across Northern BC – and for a permanent, legislative ban on oil tankers on the north coast – to legally ensure that there will be NO TANKERS IN OUR NORTHERN COASTAL WATERS.
This article reproduced courtesy of West Coast Environmental Law
Photo Credits:Banner Picture: Sakhalin Environment Watch
Skeena River, China Bar: Evan Spellman Earth Light Photography
Pine River Oil Spill: Photo courtesy of Wayne Sawchuk
South Fraser Canyon: Gregory Melle
Map: Courtesy Living Oceans SocietyUsed under Creative Commons license.
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Vancouver’s New ‘Bluer’ Water
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010Metro Vancouver’s new Seymour Filtration Plant became fully operational in January 2010. Its launch marks phase one of a mammoth $800 million project slated for completion in 2013.
The filtration process removes turbidity (fine dirt) making larger volumes of water appear ‘bluer’. The process also reduces the amount of chlorine initially introduced into the water supply.
Water from the new filtration plant is temporarily being supplied to most parts of Metro Vancouver. This will change later this spring when unfiltered water from the Capilano reservoir (which has been temporarily closed) will once again supply Vancouver, Richmond, western Burnaby and western North Vancouver.
The still-to-be-completed phase of this huge project (Seymour-Capilano Filtration Project) will link the Capilano reservoir to the Seymour Filtration Plant via twin tunnels that are currently being bored through the mountain on the North shore.
Metro Vancouver’s water supply comes from three protected mountain reservoirs – Capilano, Seymour & Coquitlam.
- Seymour reservoir typically supplies eastern Burnaby, South Surrey and western New Westminster.
- Capilano normally supplies western North Vancouver, Vancouver, Richmond and western Burnaby.
- Coquitlam reservoir supplies Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Langley, eastern New Westminster and Coquitlam. Its water is treated with ozone and chlorine and is not part of the Seymour-Capilano Filtration Project.
Because these mountain reservoirs are located above human centres of activity, gravity is the natural and most cost effective means to shunt water downhill to our municipalities. However, if water supply or quality is compromised in one reservoir, cross-pumping can transport water from any reservoir to any part of the system. For example, currently (May 1, 2010) the Capilano reservoir is closed and its regular recipients are being temporarily supplied by Seymour.
The new Seymour Filtration Plant uses a process called coagulation and flocculation to separate out sediment before chlorinating the water and sending it into the distribution network. When completed in 2013, the project will also incorporate a massive ultra-violet treatment process which will lessen, but not eliminate, the use of chlorine.
Improved filtration reduces the initial amount of chlorine introduced into the water. However, there are ‘booster’ stations located around the city that re-introduce chlorine en route to your tap. The purpose of this secondary chlorination is to maintain a lingering disinfectant action (called chlorine ‘residual’) in water as it travels through the distribution system. Proximity to one of these booster stations may result in stronger chlorine taste and odour in tap water at one location over another.
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The Story of Bottled Water – just released
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010The Story of Bottled Water – a 7 minute animated film exposing the truth about bottled water has just been released. This short film shows how ‘manufactured demand’ pushes what we don’t need and destroys what we need most. Watch it now – share it with everyone you know.
