Water quality
issues with a groundwater source frequently include the presence of iron
and manganese exceeding the Health Canada Guidelines. Dayton & Knight
Ltd. has been retained to develop options to overcome the problem.
For
example, the water source for domestic use and fire protection at the Smithers Airport is a groundwater well. The water is categorized as very
hard (250-300 mg/L as CaCO3) and the manganese (greater than
0.50 mg/L) exceeds the recommended Health and Welfare Canada maximum value
of 0.05 mg/L. After detailed study, Dayton & Knight Ltd. recommended
softening and greensand filtration.
Oxidation of the manganese is by potassium permanganate. The water
treatment plant, reservoir, pumping station and watermains were installed.
Analysis of the raw and treated water quality found the hardness in the
raw and treated water at 286 and 6.6 mg/L respectively and the manganese
in the raw and treated water as 0.66 and 0.016 mg/L respectively.
Kispiox Band Council
Water Treatment Plant
The
Kispiox community is located in west central British Columbia,
approximately 16 kilometres north of New Hazelton, on Kispiox Indian
Reserve No. 1. The existing population, based on the band membership
statistics is 759 people. The total on-Reserve Band membership in 2022
is estimated to be 1,245. The community is supplied with water from two
wells at the south end of the village. The water quality generally meets
Canadian Drinking Water guidelines with the exception of manganese and
hardness. The well water is consistently high in manganese (0.12 mg/L)
and hardness (225 to 250 mg/L)
The
Kispiox water treatment plant was completed and commissioned in June
2005 and has been running successfully since then. The facility was
designed by Dayton & Knight Ltd. to address the issues of unreliable
water supply, high levels of manganese and hardness. The current and
20-year maximum day demands are 613 m3/day and 1,000 m3/day,
respectively. Birm filtration is used for manganese removal. Hardness is
reduced to acceptable levels by ion exchange softening with sodium
chloride. To keep sodium levels low, the portion of flow treated by
softening was selected to be adjustable to a maximum of 50% of the total
treated flow. To comply with INAC design requirements and to allow for a
disinfectant residual in the distribution system, disinfection of the
treated water using sodium hypochlorite was selected. A SCADA system
monitors and records the flows and levels in the treatment plant and
reports alarm conditions to the operator.
The
Kispiox community is located in west central British Columbia,
approximately 16 kilometres north of New Hazelton, on Kispiox Indian
Reserve No. 1. The existing population, based on the band membership
statistics is 759 people. The total on-Reserve Band membership in 2022
is estimated to be 1,245. The community is supplied with water from two
wells at the south end of the village. The water quality generally meets
Canadian Drinking Water guidelines with the exception of manganese and
hardness. The well water is consistently high in manganese (0.12 mg/L)
and hardness (225 to 250 mg/L)
The
Kispiox water treatment plant was completed and commissioned in June
2005 and has been running successfully since then. The facility was
designed by Dayton & Knight Ltd. to address the issues of unreliable
water supply, high levels of manganese and hardness. The current and
20-year maximum day demands are 613 m3/day and 1,000 m3/day,
respectively. Birm filtration is used for manganese removal. Hardness is
reduced to acceptable levels by ion exchange softening with sodium
chloride. To keep sodium levels low, the portion of flow treated by
softening was selected to be adjustable to a maximum of 50% of the total
treated flow. To comply with INAC design requirements and to allow for a
disinfectant residual in the distribution system, disinfection of the
treated water using sodium hypochlorite was selected. A SCADA system
monitors and records the flows and levels in the treatment plant and
reports alarm conditions to the operator.