Fix coming for Georgetown water woes

A permanent fix to some water frustrations in Georgetown is in the works — so that the next time the power goes out, residents and businesses on the municipal well system won't have to wait as long before their taps are running again.

The problem is when power goes out, the municipal wells don't operate. Even if the power only goes out for seconds, that can still shut down the system and it doesn't come back on automatically when the power returns. To add to the challenge, the system is managed from a distance. 

Ed MacAulay, mayor of the town of Three Rivers, says it's been a problem for Georgetown residents for some time now.

"When power goes out, someone had to come from Charlottetown to turn the switch — even a flicker of the power will cause that water to shut down," he said.

Lack of water causing problems

Holland College's Georgetown campus, which serves approximately 70 students specializing mainly in the trades, has had to close its doors twice this fall because the water was off. 

"We have had some interruptions in our water supply, both in the amount of water and water pressure, which has been difficult some days," said Justin Dunn, director of facilities management for Holland College.

"It's a very active site, the use of water and adequate water pressure is important," he said.

Approximately 120 homes and businesses in Georgetown use the municipal water utility run by Environmental Industrial Service Incorporated, a provincial Crown corporation of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

The rest are on their own private wells.

Wells to be reset remotely after power outages

John Kelly, manager of the corporation, said residents can expect improvements by January 1st.

"I know there's been an issue. We recognize the issue and we're doing the work to repair it," Kelly said. "Unfortunately it's taken significantly longer to do the work than we had hoped it would take."

The company is in the process of completing work that will connect the wells in Georgetown to a computer program that can be monitored and controlled remotely.

"We can see which ones are operating. We'll get a notification as soon as one goes down that there was a failure, and we just reset it right off our phones," Kelly said.

This should mean water interruptions due to brief power outages shouldn't be as disruptive, he said. 

No immediate plan for power backup for wells

Kelly would not comment on whether there's a plan to put in a backup power supply to ensure the wells operate even when the power is out. This fix will only allow the system to be reset more quickly, once power is restored.

Kelly also explained that low water pressure in the community has also been addressed.

He said additional businesses opening in the town meant water pressure was a problem at times.

However a fourth well is now up and running, which Kelly said ensures water pressure, even when the demand on the system is high.

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