Ymir Water System

Infrastructure upgrades to the Ymir Water System have brought the system into compliance with Interior Health Authority (IHA) 4-3-2-1-0 objectives for providing safe drinking water. The Ymir WTP has been nominated for several awards including the Small Water System Award from the BC Water & Wastewater Association (BCWWA).

The Environment:

Throughout the planning, construction and comissioning of the Ymir WTP all works were conducted in accordance with federal and provincial legislation and guidelines. Recommendations provided in the environmental assessment that was carried out in 2005 were incorporated. Site rehabilitation (planting of native vegetation) will be completed in the fall of 2009.

Modern drinking water treatment processes use filtration to remove the organics and micro-organisms followed by ultra violet light to kill any harmful micro-organisms that may have passed through the filtration process. Once all the organics have been removed from the water, a very small amount of chlorine is added as a distribution system management technique. This technique relies on utilizing a small amount of chlorine that will quickly dissipate in the presence of any micro-organisms, allowing the system operator to quickly assess the distribution system for breaches, cross connections, or backflow. Without this management technique it may take up to 4 days to receive information from a laboratory indicating that the distribution system has been contaminated. Chlorine in this concentration does not produce odour problems, taste problems or, without any organics for the chlorine to react with, any harmful byproducts.

Water Quality: