It’s still same old water coming through Cove Bay Water System taps these days.
While Bowen’s largest water system had been set to have its multi-million dollar water treatment plant come online in mid-May, the plant’s activation was postponed until further notice.
Everything was going smoothly during commissioning, said Patrick Graham, Bowen Island Municipality’s director of engineering, in an email. The activation was set and announced for May 17 (and then postponed until later that week) but they ran into problems with the filter cleaning cycle and found a defective piece of equipment.
“It’s a heater that heats up the water at the start of the filter cleaning cycle,” explained Graham in the email, adding that they’re working with the supplier to have the component fixed or replaced.
“We also have to make sure that the issues with the heater haven’t or won’t affect other components of the treatment process,” said Graham. “Then we’ll complete commissioning and the water quality testing required by [Vancouver Coastal Health] before sending water to distribution.”
None of the water from the new treatment plant has been sent to island taps, so Graham attributes any perceptions of improved quality to the placebo effect.
While the objective is to get the plant online as quickly as possible, Graham is hesitant to put a date to it.
“The delay is unfortunate, but the purpose of commissioning is to make sure that everything is functioning properly – and to resolve if it isn’t – before putting the facility into service,” he said.
