The state of our water system

The Town of GBM inherited a very challenging water system when it was Incorporated in mid-2018.

The water infrastructure serving Milton and George’s Brook had been installed over decades by a mixture of private individuals, developers, Water Committees and Local Service Districts to a variety of different standards.  Much of it was old. Some of it was only ever designed to move well-water around under low pressure.  And limited funding meant that long stretches of line had often been installed without the valves and curb stops now necessary to help isolate leaks.

However, an excellent analysis of the problems and possible solutions – The LSD George’s Brook-Milton Water Study – was produced by Meridian Engineering in November 2016 and an ambitious ‘Phase 1’ project was completed by late 2017 to put a new trunk main through George’s Brook.

The snag, however, is that the total ‘fix’ for our water problems was estimated – even then – to be likely to cost over $14 million.

The first couple of years after Incorporation proved especially challenging.

The Town’s infiltration gallery clogged up after so many years’ use.  The water system failed in numerous locations due to freezing (e.g., Brickyard Road), long-standing leaks (e.g., Bakers Lane) and components rusting out (le.g., in Ellis Road, and the main line beside the Recreation Centre), and pipes blowing apart (near Freds Lane and underneath the Milton Booster Station).  All of these crises were weathered by, not least, the unstinting commitment of local contractors and our staff … your Town workers turned out at all hours of the day and night, in all conditions, to unplug the water intake or top up the gas tanks of the portable water pumps – all to keep services running.

The Town went on to secure another grant of around $1 million to complete ‘Phase 2’ in 2022-21.  This saw the vital water intake replaced, the pump house refurbished and the bypassing of the old section of pipe that ran underwater beneath George’s Brook itself. (Try repairing a leak in that.)

We seem to be plagued by power grid outages in our region and, of course, when there is no electricity, there is no way to pump water out of the Brook to residents’ houses.  In Phase 2, therefore, we installed a new generator that will keep at least one of our main pumps running when the power goes.  We have set it to cut in fifteen minutes after an outage (so that periodic power ‘blips’ don’t trigger it unnecessarily).  When running, your water pressure in higher areas will be reduced … but you should get water.  And, since it will prevent the water draining back to lower areas during a power outage, it should mean that your full service comes back much quicker because the large water main pipes don’t have to refill from scratch.  This is a major improvement.

The Town is continuously bidding for funds to get our water system up to scratch.  Our plan is to extend the water main further into Milton in Phase 3, and then renew the dire system that runs down Ryders Brook Road in Phase 4.  Phase 5 will then turn back to Milton again.  During this, we will obviously have to try to keep pace with the leaks that will crop up wherever we have not yet upgraded the system.

Water Quality

The Town draws its supply from surface water  – George’s Brook itself.

The Brook water can be very brown on occasions – particularly following heavy rains – as it is full of tannins from the plant materials in the countryside from which it comes. While unattractive – and not so good for laundering white clothes, of course – this natural discolouration is not actually harmful to people. While the Town aims to install a system in the future to remove the colour, there are much more pressing water needs at the moment. The town still uses about one-and-a-half times the amount of water one would expect … the rest is lost to leaks.

Our Town water is, however, chlorinated and we work hard to ensure that there is enough chlorine in the water at the end of the system to keep the water safe for use while not making it unpleasant nearer the source.

Town staff and volunteers – including your own MHA, Craig Pardy, and his family – test the chlorine levels every day.  The tests take place at both ends of the system (Ryders Brook Road and Cormack Place), as well as near the pumphouse and half-way through the system at the Town Offices.

In addition, Service NL carries out independent testing across the Town every few weeks.

If we have any concerns about the safety of the water, we put a Boil Water Advisory in Place.

Your Water Service: Things you can do

First of all, make sure that you have a curb stop installed somewhere near the boundary of your property. That way, we can switch off your water in an emergency.

Always make sure you have a shut-off valve where the water supply comes into your house … you can then switch your own water off for making repairs or while you are away.  

Have a Pressure Regulation Valve fitted to your household service to smooth out the water pressure in your system.

Also,  register with VoyentAlert!, our Town notification service, and follow the Town of GBM Facebook page.  We use these to advise you of any announcements, planned service interruptions or Boil Water Advisories.  Although we tend to announce the ending of BWAs, you can also scroll through existing alerts on VoyentAlert! to see what is still in force.