Noticeable Improvements in the Colour, Taste and Odour of Water – Coming

The PUC is pleased to report that the Water Quality Improvement Project (the Project) announced February 3rd, 2014 continues on schedule. Cecchetto and Sons Ltd. (the contractor responsible for the installation of the advanced treatment methods) reports that work is progressing on schedule at all sites. With the construction and installation work almost complete, Stage 1 of the Project is nearing completion. Once the construction is completed (anticipated by year-end), and the new systems are fully operational and working as expected (ongoing work through 2015), PUC customers should experience noticeable improvements in the colour, taste and odour of their water.

November also marked the conclusion of the Unidirectional Flushing (UDF) Program for 2014. “It was critically important that we thoroughly flush out the city’s watermains, especially in the east end, before bringing the advanced treatment methods online in the new year”, says Dominic Parrella, PUC President and CEO. This marks the third year the PUC has conducted the UDF program in the city’s east end and the first year through the west end. The program will continue to be implemented yearly to remove sediment from within the city’s watermains.

“We are very pleased with the positive results we have observed during the latest round of UDF activity. Our UDF crews have reported a noticeable improvement in the time it takes to complete individual flushing cycles,” says Parrella. The UDF Program is recognized as an industry best practice for improving water quality, and has played a critical role in preparing the distribution system for the implementation of the advanced treatment methods.

The month of November also saw the announcement of the PUC’s new communication tool – The Atlas Notification System. The Atlas System will allow the PUC to provide direct telephone notification to customers in advance of planned power or water service interruptions. The system is scheduled to go live in a beta test format December 1st; the reason for the beta test format is to ensure the system performs as expected before current practices are phased out. During this beta test period, the PUC will continue with current notification procedures in parallel with the new system in order to ensure all customers receive advance notice of planned interruptions.
The Atlas Notification System works by using a geographic mapping tool and the PUC’s customer information database to identify which customers will be affected by the planned service interruption. Those identified customers will then receive telephone notification 24 to 48 hours in advance of planned service outages, ensuring customers are able to prepare for the interruption.

Customers will only receive Atlas Notifications on weekdays during regular business hours so as not to disturb customers unnecessarily in the evening or on weekends.