Ottawa’s Kitchissippi Ward recorded the highest number of complaints about discoloured water in 2016, according to an analysis of a database used by the city to track service requests.
The City of Ottawa received 36 requests last year to “investigate discoloured water” in the ward—a modest figure compared to the 14,102 requests made in Kitchissippi as a whole.
However, the ward received double the requests of the next closest ward, Rideau-Rockcliffe, which received 18 requests in comparison.
The results change slightly when adjusted for per capita—8.2 requests in Kitchissippi and 4.7 in Rideau-Rockcliffe.
The rise in complaints, said Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Jeff Leiper, were due to road maintenance and construction projects resulting from federal stimulus money, the Ottawa River Action Plan and the scheduled maintenance of water mains beneath some of the ward’s older streets.
“Last year there were a few more streets that were done through the program of the Ottawa River Action Plan, which provides money for making repairs for storm and sewage repair,” Leiper said. “We had federal stimulus money that was being spent on the ward—Orrin Avenue and Irving Avenue were stimulus projects.”
The Ottawa River Action Plan was introduced in 2010 to prevent sewage overflows and storm water from entering the Ottawa River, which borders the north end of Kitchissippi Ward and serves as the city’s water supply after being filtered through several processes of purification.
The typical occurrence that prompts requests to inspect water quality is a rusty, yellow, or discoloured tone to the water, according to the City of Ottawa’s water quality webpage.
Penny Wilson, water quality supervisor for the City of Ottawa, said that water discolouration arises in areas close to construction or in areas of low water usage. However, Wilson said home and business owners should not be worried.
“This is a fairly common occurrence, and is normally solved by flushing the main through a hydrant. Please note that these low levels of iron, while not pleasing to the eye, are not a health issue.”
The month that garnered the most service requests to investigate water quality was July. The nine requests that were recorded correspond to what Leiper called the “Spencer Street rebuild,” which began in June and provoked road closures throughout July.
The purpose of the rebuild was to repair the cast iron water mains beneath the street. Once underway, much of the street was closed off and residents and building owners were placed on a “temporary water supply”—a frequent precaution taken by the city when repairing water mains.
Tap water sourced from a street’s temporary water supply often appears discoloured, but this is not a reason for concern.
Tammy Rose, director of water services for the City of Ottawa, reiterated that there was no reason for alarm and that all of the requests were addressed without a complication.
“Two requests were resolved by phone and did not require an on-site response. Staff investigated seven requests related to a water main construction project in the neighbourhood,” Rose said. “This is not uncommon during construction on cast iron water mains.”
Spencer Street was not the only road that required maintenance. Mulvihill Avenue and Lyman Street were two other examples within the ward that were in need of repair.
Leiper is optimistic that less road rebuilds and maintenance will be required throughout his ward in 2017 after a busy period of construction last year.
“This year we are mainly looking at Iona Street and Loretta Avenue, and only half of Loretta is being done. I anticipate that we can see two-thirds the number that we saw in 2016.”