Reservoirs likely source of Smithers water contamination: CAO.
The Town of Smithers remains under a boil water notice for a third week.
How the water system works Information provided by the Town explains how water is distributed throughout Smithers.
It’s 268 feet deep and is in a sand and gravel aquifer with a 12-inch telescoping screen.
The pumphouse located at the public works yard is used for annual chlorine flushing of the water mains in the spring.
The water once pumped from the wells is stored in two reservoirs that float on the system.
One of the reservoirs holds 265,000 gallons of water and is about 10 feet deep.
It was built in 1975 and was cleaned in 2005, which removed three inches of sediment from the bottom.
As for why the Town of Smithers doesn’t keep large amounts of chlorine on site, it’s simple.
According to Yanciw, they have a few options and one might be to increase the amount of chlorine put into the system at a higher concentration still once a year, or they may flush the system twice a year.