The District of Barriere appears to be very close to fixing a two-month-long water quality issue.

Mayor Ward Stamer says the community’s main well, Deep Well 2, was taken offline in February because of mechanical issues.

He says since then, high water pressure has stirred up maganese in the system, from either a new reservoir or two other newer wells that are not yet running at full capacity.

He says irrigation has not been allowed ever since the issue was discovered.

“We had an incident where we had a fire just outside the District. The fire department tapped into a fire hydrant and stirred it all up, and that was our first indication that we had a bit of a problem. And that was just about two months ago. Since then, we’ve been in the process of doing all the things we’ve needed to do to get Deep Well 2 back online.”

Stamer says all the parts needed have arrived as of today, and repairs to the well should be done by the end of tomorrow.

“Then staff will be operating Deep Well number 2, and they will be going through tests. They’ll be pressure testing, they’ll be taking water samples. Those will be sent to Interior Health, and by the weekend those could be sent back saying everything is good to go. And if it is, then early next week we’ll be able to introduce Deep Well 2 back into the system.”

Stamer says flushing the wells next week will get rid of manganese in the system that is causing discolored water in people’s taps, particularly for users in the town core.

He says the final cost for repairs and other upgrades that have been done will likely be between $50,000 and $60,000.