Water

The Water Branch is responsible for the maintenance, repair and upgrading of the water distribution system including:

• water mains and flushing program
• services to the property line
• shut off valves
• pressure reducing valves
• water meters
• fire hydrants
• back flow valves

For more information or comments, please call Engineering Operations at 604-526-4691 or e-mail

Water Distribution

The source for the City of New Westminster’s drinking water starts on the North Shore where fresh water from snowmelt and rain forms creeks and streams that is collected in the Seymour, and Coquitlam reservoirs. Metro Vancouver treats the water and distributes it to each municipality through a regional network of pipes. The City of New Westminster connects into the distribution system and provides water to each of our local business, industries and residents through a network of pipes and service connections that is maintained by Engineering Operations.

The Engineering Department monitors the system to ensure there is adequate pressure to provide enough water not only for daily activities like cooking and cleaning, but also for fire fighting. The water quality is also tested at several locations throughout the city on a weekly basis to ensure that the water being consumed is safe and meets the provincial and federal requirements.

Regulations

Access to clean water is critical to public health and general well being. In Canada, all levels of government play a role in ensuring our drinking water is safe. The Federal and Provincial governments provide water regulations and guidelines that the City conforms to including the Drinking Water Protection Act, Drinking Water Regulations and the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality.

Each year the city completes an  Annual Water Quality Report, which is submitted to the Fraser Health Authority for approval. The report summarizes the water sampling program and quality testing results as well as providing documentation of the Cities system and operator permits.

Planning

The engineering department is continuously evaluating the water distribution system. With new developments increasing the demand for water as well as the increasing age of the system reducing the distribution capacity it is critical to plan into the future in order to maintain the high standard of service we enjoy today.

To assist with the future planning, the city developed a computerized water model to calculate the water capacity in the distribution system for both the existing land use as well as future zoning. The model was used to create the Master Water Servicing Study which identifies existing and future upgrades based on the cities existing and future water demands.

The city also monitors the current condition of the distribution system by tracking the number of repairs that are annually made. This is a good indication of when a pipe is reaching the end of its useful life and should be considered for replacement.

Considering both the condition of the pipe as well as the capacity in the system the engineering department has developed a 10 Year Capital Plan which identifies approximately when each of the watermain upgrades will be necessary. As development patterns change and the city system ages it is necessary to annually review the 10 Year Capital Plan prior to adopting the Annual Capital Works Plan for the current year.