Residents within a municipal boundary west of Ottawa’s downtown core filed the most complaints about water quality in 2016, according to an analysis of data the city uses to track service requests.
Kitchissippi was the source of 73 out of 328 complaints related to water odour, taste, and discolouration—that’s more than double the number of complaints made in any other ward that year.
Kitchissippi Councillor Jeff Leiper says the few calls his office receives about water quality are generally related to construction projects, particularly road renewals.
“Our ward has some very old streets,” says Leiper, “so I think we’re seeing more renewal projects than the rest of the city, which would then lead to more complaints.”
The City of Ottawa’s map of planned constructions projects shows most are concentrated in urban areas than in suburbs, where generally less water quality complaints are made.
Leiper says when a road renewal takes place, workers will install temporary water services. Residents’ tap water may run brown for a few minutes when the system starts operating, which he says can cause some to make a complaint.
Urban wards make up the top five neighbourhoods with the highest number of complaints.
If residents complain about water quality to the City’s 311 phone service, staff can direct them to the water department, which may dispatch first responders to test their water quality.
But those cases are rare, says Stephanie, who works for Ottawa 311 and did not wish to provide her full name.
“We just ask that the callers keep running the cold water for some time and it ends up clearing out,” she says. “It’s very rare that we actually have to attend.”
She also says some complaints are related to construction, which may involve a watermain break that can cause air bubbles to change the colour of the water.
Despite the higher number in complaints, Leiper says he has no reason to believe that Kitchissippi has any problems with drinking water.
“The water quality is excellent, but with some of the city projects where we put people on temporary water, I think that sometimes kicks off a number of calls.”
Leiper, who is also a member of the City’s environment and climate protection committee, says he regularly reviews reports monitoring water quality.
“What I’ve seen is that the City’s water quality is excellent and I am not concerned about it at all.”
Kitchissippi resident Taleb Almansoori says he’s not concerned about the quality of his drinking water either, even with a few construction projects starting on his street.
“I never encountered any problems, even before that,” he says.
The ward is home to one of two water purification plants that clean water extracted from the Ottawa River before it is delivered across the city to homes and businesses.
Leiper says he pays close attention to reports on the quality of drinking water treated and distributed from the Lemieux Island water purification plant, which met provincial and federal standards in 2016.
“Water is something I take really, really seriously. It is fundamentally the most important service that we provide.”