September 28, 2009

St. John will invest significantly in revitalizing its water storage and treatment systems.

Sewer and watermain

St. John, New Brunswick gets water system makeover

PETER KENTER

correspondent

The city of Saint John, N.B. is embarking on the first phase of a complete overhaul of the city’s water system.

Ottawa and New Brunswick have contributed $16-million to the city’s $8 million to replace the oldest of the city’s mains and establish a metering program.

It’s the first step in a water revitalization project that will culminate in the construction of a new water storage and treatment plant over a period of 10 years at a projected cost of between $150 and $215-million.

Ottawa’s tab is being covered under the Federal Provincial Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, which favours shovel-ready projects.

“All of the six projects that are set to move forward were part of an existing plan,” says Brent McGovern, Water Manager with the city. “Some were farther advanced, with one designed back in 2007 that was just sitting there waiting for an announcement.”

The older pipeline is 24-inch-diameter unlined cast iron. “These are some of the oldest operating watermains in the country, with many dating back 110 years,” says McGovern. “When you have a break on a 24-inch cast iron line, that’s an expensive repair.”

Some of the cast iron lines will be replaced with new concrete pipes, while others will be rehabilitated. “Depending on the condition of some of the existing pipes that don’t have much of a water break history, we’ll try to use them to twin any new lines and provide system redundancy,” McGovern says.

Some of the unlined cast iron pipes are succumbing to microbial tuberculation, a reddish build-up of iron or manganese oxides deposited by bacteria that metabolize ferrous ions. The condition, known as “red water,” affects water’s taste, smell and colour.

The city’s two existing water treatment plants use old technology to purify water. “All we have is coarse screening to remove sticks and eels and then we simply chlorinate,” McGovern says. “We want to take the treatment to the point where the water meets Canadian Water Quality Guidelines, but dealing with the red water problem in the first phase of construction will result in an immediate improvement of water quality and we’ll also have the distribution system in good condition.”

The six funded projects include:

• Beaverbrook Avenue ($2.2 million), designed to replace an undersized main that fails to take full advantage of the water pressure supplied by the city’s Somerset Street Pumping Station.

• Dever Road ($3.9 million), which consists of installing a water transmission main to replace one constructed in 1899 and provide a redundant water distribution connection that will allow the cleaning and re-lining of pipe infrastructure in adjacent areas.

• District Metering ($1.4 million), which consists of installing flow meters and radio communication equipment on watermains in various sections of the system. The data collected will be used to audit water usage in each district and identify high usage areas and possible leaks.

• East Phinney Hill ($7 million), which involves the installation of a water transmission main to supply chlorinated water to the east water system in the short term, then later supply raw water to the proposed water treatment plant.

• Pipeline Road West ($5.7 million), which involves renewing the existing transmission main and installing a new distribution main.

Reversing Falls Bridge ($3.8 million), which involves installing two water mains under the bridge. The new mains will accommodate additional water customers in the west end of the city.

“The first phase of the project will go a long way to creating a reliable water system that will provide redundancy and work toward our action plan for safe, clean drinking water,” says McGovern. “It’s an important step forward for us.”

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