The District maintains an Emergency Response Plan to deal with situations that may impact the health of residents through problems with drinking water.
The full Emergency Response Plan is available here..
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN – March 2020
Contact North Salt Spring Waterworks (NSSWD) for ALL emergencies
Office: 250.537.9902 Supervisor: Grant Tamboline C:250-537-7297 H:250-537-9912
Emergency Pager: 888-777-4054 Operations Manager: Vaughn Figueira C:250-537-7222
If NSSWD is unable to respond, contact SPWD Trustee:
Rich Ballantyne 250-537-6671
Nigel Smyrl 250-931-1995 Tim Slaney 250-537-6002
NOTE: Residents are not trained in safety procedures. DO NOT attempt electrical or plumbing repairs, handle chlorine, or enter a storage tank or confined space.
Contaminated Drinking Water
Report ALL instances of possible water contamination to Island Health Environmental Health Officer:
Chris Laughlin Ph: 250.519.3401 or Cell: 250.744.6073
Emergency: 1.800.204.6166
Situations that May Require Boil Water Advisory
Broken Water Main
Chlorination failure
Power failure greater than 24 hours
Backflow or siphonage into water system
Flooding at any Well Site
Earthquake
Break-in or Vandalism at Well or Plant
Fuel Spill from Vehicle
Boil Water Advisory
Issued in consultation with Trustees, VIHA Environmental Health Officer and NSSWD. Lifted only in agreement with VIHA and NSSWD
- Telephone, email, and deliver advisory notice to each residence.
- Water must be HELD at a rolling boil for a minimum of 2 minutes
- When source of contamination is fixed, flush watermain to clear
Fire
- Call 911
- Shut off Line Valves
- Turn off pumps, if it can be done safely
Loss of Source – Well damage
- Shutdown affected Pumps to protect them, Close Line Valves at Well
- Arrange alternate source of water
Line Damage or Earthquake
- Isolate Storage Tank by closing Valve 1A or LV 12 (at Well 1) to preserve water until system checked for leaks
- Shut down Pumps at all Wells
- Selectively close Line Valves to identify location of any Leaks
- Issue Boil Water Advisory, check for contamination, may need to flush main
Significant Leak at any Property
- Close curb-stop valve at property line
- If flow does not stop, selectively close Line Valves as required
Vandalism or Break-in at Well or Plant
- Call Police
- Contact NSSWD and Island Health for further guidance on actions to take
Extended Power Failure
- Monitor Reservoir level which has 4-5 days of supply
- Manually add chlorine to Reservoir as needed to maintain residual
- Arrange for portable generator and connection by electrician for well pumps
Pandemic
- Work with VIHA and NSSWD to determine when to implement Pandemic Plan
- Restrict access to pump houses
Chemical or Fuel Spill
- Ensure SSI Fire/Rescue deploys Hazmat protocols
- Shut down impacted well(s) and main sections
- Flush and test for contamination