Water Flushing Project: Completion Summary 2023
The District of Ucluelet has undertaken new and extra efforts to improve the drinking water quality. We acknowledge the impacts this process has had on the residents, businesses, and visitors of Ucluelet. We thank you for your understanding while we complete this important work.
In the Spring of 2022, The District carried out water flushing and set the stage for repeat yearly water flushing. Last year’s flushing caused a significant disturbance for the community with a significant amount of sediment accumulation.
The community endured three weeks of planned outages, unplanned disruptions, and discoloured water. Small pockets of the community experienced heavy sediment that was pushed into areas which blocked them off from water supply. As well, during the flush, heavy sediment was pushed across the inlet affecting the water quality for UFN during and for several weeks after. Once complete and all was settled, the water quality tests received from Vancouver Island Health concluded a highly improved water quality.
This Year & Years Ahead
In line with our Clean Drinking Water Action Plan, the District completed the 2023 water flushing activities in April and May. These activities included:
- flushing of all district water lines; and,
- flushing of the highway water reservoir.
Overall, the system flushing was very successful. There were four primary reasons flushing was more impactful this year:
- The 2022 flushing removed a significant long term build up in the system;
- Our Public Works team has improved the flushing process using lessons learned from the previous year;
- The annual flush schedule was lengthened from 4 weeks to 2 months to provide recovery time within the system;
- A raised outlet in the highway reservoir was installed which reduces the amount of sediment leaving the reservoir and entering the town;
This year the team was able to remove dozens of cubic meters of manganese from the highway reservoir and even more from the distribution system. The concerns received from the community dropped significantly from last year, indicating we’re making good progress. The flushing program will continue to improve with each annual flush.
We will now be moving into a regularly planned flushing program, and anticipate that residents will see less and less impacts throughout the year as a result.
Manganese removed from the highway reservoir in 2023:
Thank-you and we look forward to bringing you pristine water in the years ahead