On Tuesday, April 19th, the Village of Pemberton held a Committee of the Whole meeting with Municipal engineers to review the three possible water treatment options to raise the pH of the Village's drinking water.
Through a Council resolution, Village staff have been directed to issue a Request for Proposals for the installation of a Soda Ash conditioning system to treat the low pH and alkalinity of Village drinking water. The resolution was brought forward from a Committee of the Whole meeting that took place on Tuesday, May 3, 2016.
At the Committee of the Whole meeting, Staff presented three water conditioning options for consideration; proceed with a soda ash-only solution; proceed with soda ash and a corrosion inhibitor; or abandon the water conditioning project and continue with the flushing advisory.
The implementation of the soda ash system is estimated to cost roughly $560,000. Council has committed of $425,000 towards the project, which has been allocated from Water Reserves and Community Works Gas Tax Funds, a yearly grant delivered to all local governments in British Columbia to support local priorities. The installation of the system is not anticipated to result in an increase in Utility rates at this time.