EKBIA surveying impacted businesses after water main break; specialized testing underway in Barnhartvale

After they reopened, Soboleva and her team went through about eight 15 litre containers of water a day just to make drinks. They also had to bring in extra staff given the disruption to normal operations because of the boil water advisory.

“It was taxing on us as business owners because we work on the floor every day,” Soboleva said. “And after we closed, we had to run around and try to get water and ice because we couldn’t stock up as our restaurant is very small.”

“We’d also feel bad when we tried to clear the shelves because other people also needed water, but we also wanted to try and keep the restaurant open.”

Soboleva said concerns still remain around communications from the city as she only found out that the water was safe to use after a customer told them the restrictions were lifted on Monday.

“When we went to check Voyent Alert, we saw that the advisory was lifted but there was no noise notification like it was for the other advisories,” Soboleva said. “If I didn’t manually check it, we would not have noticed it, and that was the problem.”

“It was 10 o’clock in the morning and we had an hour wait and I didn’t have time to check my phone as I was just trying to keep the restaurant flowing.”

She added once they found out, it took about 30 minutes for operations to return to normal as coffee machines and other equipment had been unhooked from city water lines because of the boil water advisory.

“There was short notice. There was not a lot of information out there but we made it work,” Soboleva added. “We’re pretty flexible.”

EKBIA gauging impacts from businesses

The East Kamloops Business Improvement Association (EKBIA) is currently surveying the businesses it represents, as it works to put together a report about the impacts faced by its members last week and over the usually busy May long weekend.

“The impacts that we were starting to see really ranged across every industry,” EKBIA executive director Clare Warner said. “We have almost 250 businesses here and none of them were untouched by this.”

“What we were starting to see was food and beverage services severely impacted by the water. We even saw Beem Credit Union bring in a porta potty because there was no clarity on can we even flush our toilets.”

Soboleva estimated that it cost her business approximately $150 a day for water and ice once they reopened Friday. The extra person brought in to help out was another cost they incurred.

“In retrospect, $1,000 to $2,000 extra – is it a lot of money, probably not, but it is money that didn’t have to be spent,” Soboleva said. “We were also closed, so obviously that also added on to the costs.”

Warner said the EKBIA plans to take all of the feedback it gathers and present it to the city, in the hopes that something could potentially be done about the unforeseen expenses, and the reduced income over the May long weekend.

“When there is so much traffic passing by on the highway, it’s really a key moment for businesses here,” Warner said. “We are doing our due diligence to understand the impacts and we’ll communicate those needs to the city. We’ll certainly be working every avenue to try and find some cost reimbursements for businesses.”

“We’re definitely relieved [that water is usable], but there are still a lot of questions on the process on how it got here and the follow up in terms of what is next. It’s an issue that is going to persist beyond the fix that the city has made on the water.”

More in-depth testing needed in Barnhartvale

Taps began flowing last Thursday evening after the city completed repairs on the water main that feeds around 7,500 homes and hundreds of businesses east of Rose Hill Road. Usage restrictions in Valleyview, Dallas, Juniper Ridge, Campbell Creek and Rose Hill were lifted on Monday, leaving only Barnhartvale under a ‘do not consume’ order.

In a statement, the City of Kamloops said these restrictions are still in effect due to Barnhartvale’s proximity to agricultural and industrial areas.

“Testing in locations under a ‘do not consume’ advisory, due to the possibility of contaminates from these land uses, is more specialized and rigorous, and fewer service providers are equipped to perform this type of analysis, which contributes to longer processing times,” the city said.

The city added the ‘do not consume’ orders in Juniper Ridge and Rose Hill were lifted after confirmation that minimum positive pressure was able to be maintained within the water system in those two communities when the reservoirs reached their lowest levels following the break.

“When positive pressure is lost, it is possible for external contaminates to enter the system,” the city added. “Out of an abundance of caution, a ‘do not consume’ advisory stays in effect until the water can maintain positive pressure (the break is fixed) and the water can be tested.”

The city expects to get results from this in-depth testing by Friday (May 22), after which restrictions will be lifted, if nothing adverse is found.

“These were all precautionary notices because of the potential plausible intrusion into the water system,” Interior Health Medical Health Officer Dr. Andy Delli Pizzi told CFJC Today. “Boiling water inactivates microorganisms like bacteria and protozoa but it would not improve the water quality if it was due to chemical intrusion.”

So far, Delli Pizzi said things appear to be looking good, and he’s also optimistic that all restrictions will be lifted later this week.

“We’re not aware of any exposures to bacteria, viruses, protozoa or any chemicals in the water and we’re not aware of any illnesses either,” he added.

“We know that this can be difficult and impact families and food establishments, but it highlights the importance of our water quality, but it also highlights the important work done by the city and our Interior Health teams to protect the public.”

In the meantime, residents in Barnhartvale can collect potable water at 1210 Eliza Road near the Barnhartvale landfill between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Roadside message boards and other messaging has also been relocated to target residents in the affected area.

by Victor Kaisar

EKBIA surveying impacted businesses after water main break; specialized testing underway in Barnhartvale

EKBIA gauging impacts from businesses

More in-depth testing needed in Barnhartvale

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