West Saint John homes could link to new water supply in two weeks

People in six west Saint John neighbourhoods could have new drinking water in two weeks.

Those areas; Randolph, Milford, Fundy Heights, Lower West, Duck Cove and Sand Cove, will be disconnected from the current groundwater well system and switched to treated water from the Loch Lomond Lakes on the city's east side as early as Feb. 12.

City water commissioner Brent McGovern said there will be a changeover period of as much as two weeks during which water from both sources will be in the system.

"During this transition, customers may notice a change in the taste of the water," said McGovern.

The water's hardness will also change.

"They may also experience periods where initially during the transition there could be some white particles, which is naturally occurring minerals from the groundwater."

McGovern says the particles are safe to consume and will vanish from the water over a short time.

While the current groundwater is rated "hard," once the change is complete, McGovern says residents in the six neighbourhoods will have "soft" water.

Residential water softeners will no longer be required and can be switched to "bypass" mode.

A city report says people will notice a difference in suds that form when using soap or shampoo.

In anticipation of the changeover the city is increasing the amount of orthophosphate in the water.

According to a city report, it is a product widely used in municipal water systems for "corrosion and scale stabilization control."

The municipality is hoping to avoid the kind of disruption that hit dozens of west side water customers in 2017 when their homes were disconnected from the Spruce Lake water supply and linked to the groundwater system.

Copper piping inside homes suddenly began to leak as the makeup of the new water weakened scale that had built up inside them over decades.

Many residents faced thousands of dollars in plumbing, flooring and drywall renovation costs.

The result was a class-action lawsuit that is still before the courts.

City Mayor Don Darling says a repeat of those residential pipe problems during next month's changeover is "very, very low." 

By early last summer, the city discovered the newly drilled wells were being drawn down more quickly than anticipated leading to the danger nearby Bay of Fundy seawater could intrude into the system.

That resulted in the current plan to move over half of west side water customers from the wells and onto the system already serving the vast majority of city residents who live east of the Reversing Falls Bridge.

A $525 thousand water pumping station has been installed at Fallsview Drive to move the water across Reversing Falls and into the west side neighbourhoods.

In an attempt to get compensation for the added costs, the city is now in dispute resolution with engineering consulting firms involved in the creation of the well system.