Town officials are giving municipal water a clean bill after receiving complaints from residents that their tap water wasn’t up to snuff.
Tests on municipal water have shown bacteria and chemical levels to be normal.
“We’ve done bacteriological testing and the results didn’t indicate any contamination. Other tests, like chlorine, came back good, too,” said Allan Kendrick, Director of Infrastructure Services for the Town of Drumheller.
The Town routinely sends samples of its water for testing by an independent provincial lab. Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development also tests municipal water on a regular basis.
The Town of Drumheller is sticking by its water after receiving several complaints from residents. Testing has indicated municipal water is free of any bacteriological or chemical contamination and is safe for drinking.
Kendrick suggested some taste and colour issues could be caused by several factors.
“We’ve had some temperature issues, because of the heat. When water heats up, it doesn’t hold as much oxygen as usual. There were times when the water wasn’t moving and we flushed the hydrants, so that comes into play as well,” said Kendrick.
“In Midland, there have been complaints of chlorine, but that might be due to the Munson booster pump, which sends water up to the top part of Midland.”
Rust coloured water could be a result of old cast iron water pipes.
“It could be an isolated incident if, for example, there are cast iron pipes. If there is a blister in the pipe and it pops, you’ll get an orange-tinge to your water for a little bit. It goes away pretty quick,” said Kendrick.
If water problems persist, Kendrick also cautioned the root of the problem could be the plumbing within the house itself.
“For example, with hot water, we can’t do anything about that, because it’s likely something to do with the hot water tank,” said Kendrick.
For the time being, the Town will continue to investigate any complaints.
“We’re still looking into everything, checking out the comments on Facebook,” said Kendrick. “We’ve answered everything we can and haven’t found anything.”