Pumping $918,000 into Digby’s drinking water
Upgrades to town’s water system underway include anti-terrorism addition
The town of Digby is undertaking $918,000 worth of improvements to its drinking water system. The upgrades are underway and will be completed by the end of the summer to comply with provincial drinking water guidelines that took effect April 1.
Cost of the work will be split equally between the town, the province, and the federal government.
“We’re fortunate,” says town clerk Tom Ossinger. “The quality of our drinking water hasn’t really been an issue.”
Unlike many coastal communities that draw a drinking supply from surface water, Digby has nine deep artesian wells, most of them in the Mount Pleasant area.
Four or five of the older well chambers will have ladders replaced by stairs, says Ossinger.
“It’s really a safety issue for the person who has to go into the well.”
Flow meters, measuring the amount of water being pumped, are being installed in seven of the town’s wells.
Supervisory control and data acquisition systems will provide a central computer with information about which wells are pumping, and their production. The system is already in place, Ossinger said, but will upgraded to give more information.
New units to analyze water will be positioned at four or five points in the system and will determine the chlorine residue and send this information to the central computer.
Ossinger says that all of Digby’s wells have wellhead protection and alarm systems, but additional protection will ensure wells are not accessible by unauthorized people.
“This one is really an anti-terrorism measure,” he notes.
A water main on Warrick Street will also be replaced as part of the water system upgrade.
