There have been lots of hot pots on the stoves of the County the past two weeks.

First, on July 13, an unidentified person went door to door in Wellington on the Lake warning residents of the neighbourhood west of Wellington that they would need to boil their water to be safe.

The County promptly issued a scam alert, as though the man were a bogus email on which you should not click.

Only after it issued its alert did the County discover that WOTL’s water inspection company, Skootamatta Environmental Consulting, had detected coliform in a single internal water sample, meaning, a sample coming from a tap inside the development. No coliform should be present in tap water.

As a private development of Sandbank Homes, WOTL is responsible for testing its drinking water and telling residents when it is not safe to drink.

According to Laura Reavie at Scootamatta Consulting, the testing company, upon discovering coliform, followed its protocols and immediately reported the result to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, the residents’ association at WOTL, and the County.

A well-meaning resident was probably the person who went door-to-door. Nobody is quite clear who that was.

The coliform count was a one-off; repeated sampling after the event was clear. The detection was most likely the result of a sampling or lab error; one touch of the lid on the sample jar with an ungloved hand is enough to introduce coliform.  Nonetheless, WOTL was obliged to follow all health protocols and test for the next 48 hours. That meant the advisory was in place a full five days, as a weekend also got in the way. It was lifted Monday 17 July.

Kayla Beach-Courtney, Supervisor of Compliance for the County’s Water and Wastewater Services, stressed that no bacterial counts were detected in Wellington’s water at any time.

“The WOTL system is an end-point in our distribution system; water only flows into the subdivision area but does not flow back out,” said Ms. Beach-Courtney.

Fast on the heels of the confusions in Wellington, on July 18, Consecon and Carrying Place were issued a boil water alert. This situation was dramatic. A huge watermain, Trenton’s primary water pipe, which runs under the Trent River to deliver water to the County, had burst.

Within a day, an underwater repair company had installed a huge clamp on the pipe. This fixed the situation temporarily. Another huge pipe, 18 inches in diameter and over half a kilometer long (550m) is currently being installed on the D.J. MacDonald bridge, the site of the break. Once it is up and running, within two weeks, the underwater main can be completely repaired. That process will take months.

“Installing the temporary water supply line over the D. J. MacDonald Bridge is a complex undertaking,” says Chris Angelo, Quinte West’s Director of Public Works. “As soon as we understood the magnitude of the break in the primary water main, the City began preparing.”

Two large holes were excavated to connect the temporary water supply pipe to the City’s permanent underground water system. The temporary water pipe will be strapped to the sidewalk railing on the north side of the bridge. “This is a very unique installation,” said Mr. Angelo. “The temporary water pipe, made of high-density polyethylene, will divert the flow of water from the primary main under the river to maintain a reliable water supply to customers during the permanent repair process.”

The boil water advisory was issued because the bursting of the watermain underwater meant untreated water could have entered the drinking water system from the river. The advisory was lifted very quickly, however, as it was a caution in the first place.

“A watermain break does not directly lead to coliform in drinking water. Depending on the nature and severity of a leak, and whether positive pressure is maintained at the location of the leak while a repair is conducted, sometimes water from the area surrounding a watermain leak or other contamination can enter the watermain. This is relatively uncommon,” said Ms. Beach-Courtney.

“In the case of the Trenton watermain break affecting the Consecon/Carrying Place Drinking Water System, the boil water advisory was implemented as a precautionary measure due to a widespread pressure loss in Trenton and the potential for water to have entered the watermain during the repairs,” explained Ms. Beach-Courtney. It was lifted just two days after it was declared.

Trenton continues to investigate the cause of the break. The primary water main, installed in the mid-1970s, is a large concrete pipe, 20-inches in diameter, with an expected lifespan of 80-100 years.

On July 17, the County continued emergency repairs on Grove Street in Picton, where a sewer main was blocked the week before. Work went on all day with heavy equipment and the street was partially closed to traffic. “Should coloured water be experienced due to vibrations from construction,” residents were told, “flush the cold water tap…until water runs clear once work is complete.”

That coloured water comes from jostling of the lead pipes that carry Picton’s drinking water, which are encrusted with the corrosion and oxidation of close to 100 years of use. It has nothing to do with boiling water advisories or bacterial/coliform counts in water and is relatively “harmless,” according to Ms. Beach-Courtney.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, the County’s water system is due for an overhaul. Wellington held a Public Information Center about its plans last month. Many residents will be interested in another Public Information Center to be held August 3 from 6-8pm at the Picton Town Hall (2 Ross Street). It will give important updates on the Picton Master Servicing Plan for Picton and Bloomfield.