Epcor updating its water conservation protocols after January non-essential water ban: report

Epcor is updating its water conservation protocols to create more clarity and transparency for customers, as well as account for seasonal water use, according to a report to be presented to the City of Edmonton utility committee.

The report details Epcor Water Services' performance in 2023 and is on the agenda for Tuesday morning's utility committee meeting. The city — Epcor's lone shareholder — appoints the company's board of directors, but Epcor otherwise conducts business independently.

The report, among other things, details changes it wants to make to its water demand management measures — protocols the company has in place to reduce water use if certain situations arise.

"It's a little bit more detailed than what it was in the past, but certainly the concepts are very much the same," Susan Ancel, Epcor director of One Water planning, told CBC News in an interview Friday.

Epcor reviews its measures every five years, Ancel said. But the city wanted the company to review them after Epcor issued a four-day ban on non-essential water use on Jan. 29.

The ban came after two malfunctions were detected in the electrical cable system at the E.L. Smith water treatment plant — one of two such plants in Edmonton. Residents and businesses throughout the greater Edmonton area had to curtail water use. Some businesses, such as car washes, shut down without compensation.

Epcor has since reviewed how things unfolded, which included assessing the conservation measures and the public's response. It sought feedback from customers, including, specifically, car wash operators, according to the report.

The company also consulted with its Calgary counterparts, learning from how they handled water main breaks earlier this summer, Ancel said.

Both events highlighted the importance of having protocols to reduce water consumption to respond to drought and infrastructure failures alike, the report says.

Epcor moving to staged approach: report

According to the report, Epcor broke down its demand management measures, which have existed in Edmonton since the early 1990s, into three scenarios:

• Measure A: Epcor internally curtailing water use.
• Measure B: voluntary public reduction.
• Measure C: mandatory public reduction of non-essential water use.

Whether the public was notified would depend on which measures were taken and the time of year, the report says. Poor river water quality and infrastructure constraints were the main reasons for protocols to be implemented in "recent years."

Epcor used Measure C for the ban in January — the first time in at least 23 years that the company had to take such a step, according to the report.

Now, the company has laid out a staged approach: general efficient water consumption is the baseline, with reduction targets and actions that must be taken for each progression above that. The measures differ depending on the season, as people tend to use more water in the summertime.

The goal, Ancel said, is to help customers better understand what is required. But Epcor will also communicate what decreasing consumption by a certain amount looks like, should the need arise.

Car wash operators felt targeted by ban

In a previous utility committee meeting, car wash owners raised issues they had with how the January water ban was handled and the repercussions they suffered.

Some, like Rudy van Woerkom, felt like the industry was targeted in a way other businesses weren't.

He and his wife own Big City Auto and Truck Wash in Morinville, Alta., just north of Edmonton. They closed for a few days, he said, estimating that they lost out on several thousand dollars in revenue as a result.

"Epcor has to understand that it was their fault," van Woerkom told CBC News Saturday, referring to the cause of the failure at the E.L. Smith plant.

Epcor found that water leaked onto underground electrical cables after a seal failed. Part of the equipment had been there since the plant opened nearly 50 years ago.

"They pushed the buck and are continuing to push the buck," he said.

Not targeting specific types of businesses, more cooperation and better communication were among the main points of feedback from car wash owners, according to the report.

Van Woerkom hopes those things come from the new protocols moving forward, he said.

Natasha Toffoli, chief operating officer of Bubbles Car Wash & Detail Centre, spoke at the previous utility committee meeting. She plans to be in attendance again Tuesday.

Toffoli, who has had dialogue with Epcor throughout the process, is optimistic that the measures will "fair and equitable for all industries moving forward," she said in an email to CBC News.

The staged framework aligns with measures in other cities, such as Calgary, she said. During the water main issues, the Bubbles location in Calgary reduced water consumption more than it needed to, through changes to operations as well as public messaging from the city.

Epcor is formalizing the new protocols with the city and various customers, aiming to finalize them next year.

City administration is recommending the committee accept the report as information.