UPDATE 12:09 pm:
The City of Kamloops says essential water service has now been temporarily restored to some east Kamloops neighbourhoods as crews continue work on a damaged feeder main.
In a Wednesday afternoon update, the city said reservoirs were replenished overnight and crews successfully cleared air from pipelines, allowing water service to return for limited use in parts of the affected area.
Residents in Juniper Ridge and Rose Hill are now under a “Do Not Drink or Consume and Conserve Water” restriction.
Officials say tap water in affected areas is not safe for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, washing food or providing to pets, and boiling the water will not make it safe.
Water can still be used for bathing, showering, flushing toilets and household cleaning, although residents are being asked to continue conserving water wherever possible.
The city warned another shorter water shutdown will likely be needed later this week as crews complete permanent repairs to the damaged main.
“Our minds from the council are on our residents who this has been extraordinarily disruptive for and stressful and frustrating, and that’s perfectly understandable,” said Councillor Katie Neustaeter, who is the Deputy Mayor of Kamloops for May. “No one ever expects for school to unexpectedly be canceled, so the City always regrets when these sorts of things happen.”
All schools have resumed operations except RL Clemitson Elementary in Barnhartvale, which remains closed due to ongoing water service issues.
While water services are partially restored for some, the entire east Kamloops water supply was shut down for around 12-hours on Tuesday as the City noted that over use of water, even after an appeal by municipal authorities for people to conserve water, went largely unheeded.
“There is water running in the taps right now because people did stop doing those unnecessary activities,” Neustaeter noted. “So things like showers are possible…you can flush your toilet.”
However, she notes the resumption does not mean the water is safe for consumption.
“It is non-potable water still, and we’ll wait on the City experts to update us about when it’s possible to consume that again, but it won’t be immediately,” she added.
Emergency potable water distribution sites will remain open 24 hours a day at Valleyview Arena, Dallas Park and the BC Wildlife Park through Friday night.
The City had originally planned to open a 4-hour window starting on Saturday to provide potable water at the same locations for those who may not regain access to safe water immediately.
Those are expected to be people living in more rural areas of east Kamloops, who could find themselves under a “do-not-consume” order for a number of days, even after the water main is fixed.
Residents are asked to bring their own containers and may collect up to 100 litres of drinking water per visit.
Section of water main laying on the grass at the site of a water main break along River Road in Kamloops which has prompted major water access issues for east Kamloops residents/via Jeff Andreas
ORIGINAL:
City of Kamloops officials say they hope to restore water service to thousands of properties east of Rose Hill Road by Wednesday night, after repair efforts on a critical feeder main failed Tuesday and left much of east Kamloops without reliable water service.
City officilas said Wednesday morning, that a decision on restoring service could be made early in the afternoon if reservoir levels continue to recover.
City crews were preparing to excavate along River Street, where a broken water main valve first discovered Sunday led crews to locate a larger break in a 500-millimetre feeder main supplying east Kamloops. Public Works Divisional Manager Joe Luison said crews were assembling at the site Wednesday morning and would begin digging once officials were confident reservoir levels were stable enough to proceed.
The city said excavation work will only move ahead after reservoirs in Valleyview, Juniper Ridge, Dallas and Barnhartvale recover to acceptable levels following critically low levels reached Tuesday.
Officials also plan to gradually ease water restrictions once reservoir levels stabilize. Until then, residents on city water east of Rose Hill Road are still being instructed not to use water for any reason as crews work to rebuild pressure in the system.
The city plans to release additional information later Wednesday outlining which neighbourhoods could move forward under revised water-use restrictions and what advisories may apply once service returns.
The prolonged outage continues to affect approximately 19,000 residents and roughly 7,500 homes across east Kamloops.
The Kamloops-Thompson School District says RL Clemitson Elementary remains closed Wednesday because the school is still without water service. School buses for RL Clemitson students have also been cancelled for the day.
However, Dallas Elementary, Ralph Bell Elementary, Juniper Ridge Elementary, Marion Schilling Elementary and Valleyview Secondary reopened Wednesday for regular classes, with normal bus service operating for students attending those schools.
The district said water service has returned to the five reopened schools, but the water remains non-consumable. Drinking water stations have been set up at each school and will remain in place as long as necessary.
Reservoir levels dropped so low Tuesday that Kamloops Fire Rescue could no longer rely on hydrants in the affected area for fire suppression. Luison said water tenders were staged and prepared in case emergency response was needed while crews attempted repairs.
According to city officials, the water system was depleted because too many residents ignored voluntary and mandatory water restrictions issued earlier in the week, draining reservoirs faster than crews could maintain supply during repair operations.
Repair efforts Tuesday had initially raised hopes that water service could be restored by evening after crews located and began working on the damaged line roughly 12 feet underground. However, the city later announced the repairs were unsuccessful, forcing crews to shift to a more extensive repair plan extending into Wednesday.
The City of Kamloops has continued operating emergency potable water distribution sites at Valleyview Arena, Dallas Park and the BC Wildlife Park, with water trucks scheduled to remain in operation around the clock through Friday. Residents are being asked to bring their own containers for water collection.
Once service is restored, Interior Health and city officials are expected to issue a combination of boil water advisories and do-not-consume notices depending on location, with water quality testing and clearance potentially taking up to seven days in some areas.
–With files from Paul James
